5 biggest NFL on-field brawls of all-time

The NFL is a physical league. Football is almost like a structured brawl if you come to think of it with a line of scrimmage across which you jostle. But there are players who are not happy with such arrangements and want fights of their own. Such players precipitate brawls, which causes the fight to spill all over the pitch. We define brawls here as not just two players from opposing teams fighting, but when a melee ensues.

In the NFL, there have been many such brawls. Thankfully, no one has ever seriously got hurt in them. In fact, a case can be made that the brawls added to the passion and fanaticism of the game and showed the fans how much their teams cared. While it is difficult to categorize the best brawls of all time, someone has to give it a shot and we did.

Top NFL Brawls of all time

#5 - St. Louis Rams versus New York Giants, 2014

Odell Bekham Jr. may now be playing with the Los Angeles Rams, but when with the New York Giants, he was the catalyst for a huge brawl between the St. Louis iteration of the franchise and his team. To be fair to him, a lot of smack had already been spoken about during the game, but he was the one who fanned the embers.

After scoring a touchdown in the first quarter, he celebrated in front of an opposition player. Alec Ogletree, of the Rams, did not take it lying down and in the second quarter, he smashed Odell Beckham Jr. over the sidelines with a late hit, causing him to kick out at Ogletree. That sparked a free-for-all, with Damontre Moore and Preston Parker of the Giants ejected for punching, along with William Hayes of the Rams. Nine players in total were fined for the brawl.

#4 - Cleveland Browns versus Pittsburgh Steelers, 2019

In one of the ugliest incidents ever seen on a football field, Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns and Mason Rudolph of the Pittsburgh Steelers got into a fight. Garrett ripped Rudolph's helmet clean of the Steelers' quarterback and struck his unprotected head with the same helmet. It sparked a brawl between both sets of players.

Along with Myles Garrett, teammate Larry Ogunjobi was also ejected for pushing Rudolph from behind. Pittsburgh center Maurkice Pouncey was also ejected for kicking Garrett during the brawl when he was pinned to the ground.

Cincinnati Bengals v Pittsburgh Steelers

Continued: Top NFL Brawls of all time

#3 - Cincinnati Bengals versus Pittsburgh Steelers, 2015

These two division rivals have a history of brawls, so it is tough to choose out one. James Harrison and Vontaze Burfict nearly started one before the beginning of a regular-season game in 2015. In 2018, the brawl happened after the game, with punches being thrown from both sets of players. In 2010, a melee ensued after a win for Pittsburgh over Cincinnati.

But what happened in the Wildcard game in 2015 stands out more than most. It was a meltdown of epic proportions by the Cincinnati Bengals. With 1:36 left to go, they secured an interception while ahead 16-15. It should have been that except the Bengals fumbled the ball in the next possession. That still should not have been cause for concern as Ben Roethlisberger was injured and was unable to advance the ball much, throwing only slants and screens.

But then Vontaze Burfict of the Bengals decided to decapitate Antonio Brown of the Steelers. In the ensuing brawl, Steelers coach Joey Porter entered the field and started picking fights with opposition players. Yet it was Adam Jones who tried to push him off that generated another penalty against the Bengals. Both penalties advanced the ball by 30 yards to give the Pittsburgh Steelers excellent field position to kick a field goal and win the game.

#2 - Chicago Bears versus St. Louis Cardinals, 1986

This throwback brawl did not even happen in the regular or postseason. The Chicago Bears and the St. Louis Cardinals got into an almighty melee in the preseason in 1986. In what should have been a meaningless game, the current Chicago franchise squared up with the past franchise and in the third quarter a brawl broke out involving pretty much every player.

One Chicago player was ejected along with three St. Louis players. NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle fined 51 players for the incident.

#1 - Kansas City Chiefs versus Oakland Raiders, 1970

We finish our list of brawls with one that defines a rivalry. In 1970, Len Dawson of the Kansas City Chiefs went down on his own after a first down to run out the clock. Raiders lineman Ben Davidson speared him with his helmet to spark the brawl.

It led to the play being called back by the referees and on the ensuing play, the Raiders got a stop and went on to tie the game on their way to the AFC title.