Cowboys and Chargers have a pregame fight before their 'Monday Night Football' game
The Los Angeles Chargers and Dallas Cowboys must have spent their Sunday hanging out, watching pregame fights around the NFL.
A day after the San Francisco 49ers and Cleveland Browns had a big pregame brawl, the Chargers and Cowboys followed their lead and scuffled before their game on Monday night.
The Cowboys and Chargers got into it ahead of #MNF 😳 pic.twitter.com/0y7dVEjsWF
— ESPN (@espn) October 16, 2023
Just had a pregame fight between the Cowboys and Chargers pic.twitter.com/GOqRdYOmMH
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) October 16, 2023
Punches were thrown and it appeared that Chargers running back Austin Ekeler had his helmet pop off after getting hit.
Austin Ekeler got tagged 👀 pic.twitter.com/BBZCWPbjSp
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) October 16, 2023
It's rare to see a fight between teams during pregame warmups, but it happens from time to time. Players get upset when opponents invade their space, or there's some trash talking that goes too far. The Chargers were apparently blocking the Cowboys' entrance to the field, which led to the fight, according to ESPN's Todd Archer. You can assume that the NFL, which isn't thrilled at two big pregame fights happening in Week 6, will view the video of both closely and hand out some fines.
As for Monday night, the pregame skirmish set the tone for a matchup the Cowboys eventually won, 20-17.