Super Bowl Fight: XLIX Ends With Fisticuffs

A fight broke out between players on the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks at the end of what ended up being a thriller of a Super Bowl. Players from both sides chased each other down the field, tackling and throwing punches at each other’s heads as New England prepared to knee the ball and secure its victory with 18 seconds left on the clock.

It’s unclear what prompted the fight, but it started just after New England was able to get the Seattle defense to jump across the line of scrimmage as it was ready to knee the ball while backed up to its own end zone. While kneeing the ball is usually a routine formality to run out the clock at the end of a game, this situation was more complex. New England quarterback Tom Brady would have had to quarterback sneak the ball out of the end zone to avoid a safety, which would have awarded Seattle two points and a chance to win the game

First, Seattle linebacker Bruce Irvin (No. 51) and New England tight end Rob Gronkowski (No. 87) appeared to grab each other. Then Seattle defensive end Demarcus Dobbs (No. 95) gets involved and pushes Gronkowski, setting off a series of brawls. Seattle defensive lineman Michael Bennett (No. 72) also got involved. Irvin was tossed from the game for unnecessary roughness. Watch the fight in its entirety via Deadspin.

Or catch some highlights of the fight:

A lot of people seemed to enjoy it.