A Raiders punt in the third quarter of their Thanksgiving Day game against the Cowboys turned into a wild brawl, leading to two ejections and a bloodied referee in a game that got more than a bit chippy.
As AJ Cole’s punt sailed out of bounds, Roderic Teamer and Kelvin Joseph continued shoving as they stumbled off the field toward the back of the Las Vegas bench. Joseph shoved Teamer to the turf before the Raiders safety jumped up and shoved back, with nearly two dozen other players making their way over to the scuffle in the process.
Footage shown after everyone separated had a shot of referee Tom Hill — who was working his 355th career game on Thursday, according to his Pro Football Reference page — with a bloodied spot on his chin, though it’s unclear at what point during the brawl Hill’s cut opened.
Additional footage showed the cut covered with a bandage.
Then, a postgame segment on ESPN showed Dallas defensive tackle Trysten Hill punching Raiders guard John Simpson while the teams met on the field. Las Vegas defensive end Maxx Crosby, who finished with one tackle and one quarterback hit, starting moving toward Hill when the video cut, and an ensuing shot showed about eight players shoving in a scrum near midfield.
Dallas and Las Vegas combined for 28 penalties and 276 penalty yards, which were season-highs for both teams, according to the Associated Press, in the Raiders’ 36-33 overtime win, snapping their three-game losing streak and bumping their record back over .500 for the season.
A costly third-down pass interference penalty on Anthony Brown — his fourth such penalty of the game, with all four coming on third-down plays — helped the Raiders turn a 3rd-and-18 into a first down and eventual field goal, which Daniel Carlson kicked from 29 yards for the win.
The Cowboys’ offense rebounded after scoring just nine points in last week’s loss to the Chiefs, but still lost for the third time in four games to fall to 7-4 on the season. They travel to New Orleans and face the Saints on next week’s Thursday Night Football, the first of three consecutive road games for Dallas as they hold a two-game advantage over the Eagles in the NFC East. Las Vegas hosts Washington next weekend.