Two players were escorted off the field in the first quarter of today’s Broncos vs. Raiders game after an exchange of shoves, harsh words, and a few missed punches. Michael Crabtree blocked Aquib Talib during a run by Marshawn Lynch. Once the play was over however, Crabtree continue pushing Talib out of bounds. That’s when the altercation started.
Crabtree — a wide receiver for the Oakland Raiders — appears to have taken the first earnest swing after a brief shoving match. As soon as the punch was thrown, teammates and officials rushed to break it up. However, the two plays jogged to avoid interference, and Talib —cornerback for the Denver Broncos — threw at least one real punch and tore Crabtree’s helmet off before the two were finally separated and removed from the game.
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Social media users wasted no time in creating gifs and mocking the brief encounter.
Always wear a helmet if you’re gonna start swinging pic.twitter.com/1yk4EL6wlG
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) November 26, 2017
Pete Blackburn wasn’t the only one to point out that Crabtree threw the first punch, though he was the only one still wearing a helmet.
Pretty breezy in Oakland today pic.twitter.com/DtVm3WkuxZ
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) November 26, 2017
Crabtree wanted his chain back. His grandmomma gave him that chain
— Marcus Thompson (@ThompsonScribe) November 26, 2017
The two players had a similar encounter last season when Talib apparently ripped a necklace off of Crabtree during a game.
