A tight, heavyweight matchup between two NFC South rivals led to a shoving match on Sunday afternoon.
In the 4th quarter of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers‘ game against the New Orleans Saints, a fight broke out starting with a hit by Bucs receiver Mike Evans on Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore that sent the latter to the ground.
The pair were ejected for their roles in the fight, which saw both benches spill onto the field carrying on for some time.
It took officials and coaches a few minutes to restore order, but the game opened up from there. With the game tied 3-3 at the time of the fight, the offenses put their feet to the pedal and finished with a final score of 20-10 in favor of Tampa Bay.
A brawl broke out between Tampa Bay and New Orleans broke out after Marshon Lattimore (23,R) was seen jawing at the Bucs sideline and offering some words to Tom Brady (12, L)
Lattimore shoved Brady as they yelled at each other, leading to Mike Evans (13) rushing in
At a sprint, Evans laid out Lattimore in retaliation, escalating things and leading to the brawl
After Tampa Bay QB Tom Brady threw deep pass to Scotty Miller on third down that fell incomplete, the teams were walking toward the sidelines.
Brady was seen complaining to an official as Marshon Lattimore was walking by the Buccaneers bench. Lattimore was seen jawing with coaches on the sideline, including former Bucs head coach Bruce Arians – who now serves the team as a consultant.
Lattimore waved his hand dismissively as he walked by Brady, possibly saying something to him.
The confrontation led to the benches spilling onto the field, with a shoving match ensuing
Both Lattimore and Evans were seen trying to pump up the crowd following their ejections
Brady took offense to this, turning to Lattimore and offering words of his own. Tampa Bay RB Leonard Fournette was next to Brady, and seemed to put his arms out trying to prevent Lattimore from getting to his quarterback.
Lattimore shoved back, and then put his hands on Brady, which drew a flag. As he did this, Evans came charging off the sideline, laying a hit on Lattimore that sent him to the ground – also getting a flag.
The sidelines emptied as players started shoving each other. Coaches and officials were helpless in solving and figuring out the situation, with multiple penalties assessed to each team.
At the end of it all, Lattimore and Evans were both ejected from the game. This is just the latest in a long history of confrontations between the two.
In 2017, Evans was suspended a game for running onto the field and shoving Lattimore in the back. In 2020, the two fought again – this time with Lattimore instigating and Evan’s knocking off his counterpart’s helmet.