Broncos cornerback Chris Harris blames Michael Crabtree for starting the brawl that led to ejections for Crabtree, Aqib Talib and Gabe Jackson.
Harris accuses Crabtree of taking a cheap shot at him the play before the brouhaha.
“He came in there, was like ‘bam,’ hit me right in the middle of the stomach,” Harris said, via Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. ". . . He just sucker punched me. I have never seen that in the NFL.”
Crabtree was not penalized on that play, which was away from the action. On the next play, as the Raiders wide receiver blocked Talib, Talib ripped off Crabtree’s chain.
The Raiders receiver lost it, pushing Talib into the ground on the sideline and setting off the melee.
“He didn’t come to play football,” Harris said, via Troy Renck of Denver7. “He came to fight.”
While the brawl ensued on the sideline, Talib and Crabtree began throwing punches near the goal line. Talib caught the helmetless Crabtree with an elbow after missing with his fist, and Crabtree poked Talib in the eye. Broncos defensive linemen Zach Kerr and Domata Peko intervened.
Crabtree and Talib were ejected for fighting, and Jackson was kicked out for making contact with an official. Raiders coach Jack Del Rio called it an “ugly incident.”
“They have a little bit of history with the chain snatching,” Del Rio said, via Gehlken. ". . . Bottom line is we can’t afford to lose one of our top wide receivers.”
Crabtree and Talib were meeting for the first time since Talib ripped off Crabtree’s necklace in the regular-season finale last season. Crabtree missed the first meeting between the teams this season with an injury.