Chargers' Quentin Johnston hit with a fine for a tackle that didn't even draw a flag

It's been a little over a week now since the Los Angeles Chargers were roughed up by the Indianapolis Colts, as the Bolts were blistered in Week 7 and could do absolutely nothing to stop the league's most potent offensive attack, ultimately taking a 38-24 defeat.

But while the Chargers have bounced back since then with a dominant 37-10 victory over the Minnesota Vikings this past Thursday night, thus improving to 5-3 on the season, a little more fallout from that loss to Indianapolis came to light over the weekend, as Los Angeles wide receiver Quentin Johnston has apparently been hit with a fine for a play that didn't even draw a flag during the game.

Coming out of the two-minute warning in the first half, the Chargers, trailing 20-3, faced 3rd-and-7 on the Colts' 8-yard line. Obviously needing a score to get back into the game, Justin Herbert attempted a pass to Johnston in the end zone, only to have it intercepted by Indianapolis safety Nick Cross, who was subsequently taken down by Johnston for a touchback.

The tackle looked harmless enough, which is why no flag was thrown, but the league ultimately decided that it was a hip-drop tackle, which was banned ahead of the 2024 season. As such, according to the NFL's official Gameday Accountability page, Johnston has been hit with $17,389 fine for unnecessary roughness.

Chargers' Quentin Johnston slapped with fine well after the fact

It's not the biggest fine in the world, of course, but it's yet another little setback for Johnston, who hasn't been nearly as effective as he was in the early weeks of the season.

After catching 26 passes on 41 targets for 377 yards with four touchdowns in the Chargers' first five games, the third-year wideout sat out the team's Week 6 win over the Miami Dolphins with a hamstring injury.

And while he did catch a second-half touchdown against the Colts, Johnston only caught one other ball that afternoon, ultimately ending his day with what was then a season-low 30 yards, which is now zero, as he failed to record a single reception on Thursday night against the Vikings. But not only did the 24-year-old not catch a pass, he was never even targeted and took a season-low 52.1 percent of the Chargers' offensive snaps.

Meanwhile, rookie Tre Harris took the second-most snaps of his young career, as he was on the field for 58.9 percent of Los Angeles' offensive plays. The only game in which he took more was in Week 6, when Johnston was out of action. So, this is certainly something to keep an eye on as the season progresses.