The NFL has reacted to criticism over perceived errors in officiating from Saturday’s Texans-Chiefs playoff game by making an actual error in punishing a player for saying something he clearly didn’t say.

The league has fined Texans running back Joe Mixon for saying this after the Kansas City win: “Why play the game if every 50/50 call goes with Chiefs. These officials are trash and bias.”

Mixon didn’t say it. The quote is from a tweet included in an SI.com story regarding Mixon’s actual comments after the game.

Said Mixon, “Everybody know how it is playing up here. You can never leave it into the refs hands. The whole world see, man.”

The same article attributes the comment for which Mixon was fined not to Mixon but to former Bengals receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh. (Here’s the tweet.)

Mixon’s actual quote wasn’t mentioned in the fine letter. Presumably, it wasn’t enough to trigger punishment.

Mixon’s agent, Peter Schaffer, tells PFT that he will “defend and appeal” the fine and “will explore all other legal avenues to rectify this situation.”

The immediate answer is simple. The NFL needs to rescind the fine and apologize to Mixon for a mistake more boneheaded than most bad calls.