The Patriots and Jets don’t like each other, and when you add a questionable hit to the mix, it might as well be gasoline on the fire.
That’s what happened in the final seconds of Thursday night’s wet affair in Foxboro, after Geno Smith was intercepted by Aqib Talib to seal the New England win. As Talib carried the ball up the sideline, he waited a moment or two to finally step out of bounds. Perhaps because of that, Jets offensive lineman Nick Mangold came in and dove at Talib in an apparent effort to drive the Patriots cornerback out of bounds.
The issue, though, was that Mangold looked to go pretty low on Talib — down near his knees. This all happened on or near the Patriots’ sideline, which only made matters worse. Within seconds of the hit, a “brawl” had started, or at least as much of a brawl as you can have in a football game with people wearing helmets that cover their entire face and head.
Jets linemen D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Willie Colon were ejected for their roles.
See the fight below (via Larry Brown Sports).
