Only 32 miles separate the Redskins and Ravens’ home stadiums—Fedex Field and M&T Bank Stadium—and these two geographic rivals got involved in a heated scuffle on Saturday night during the Battle of the Beltway.
The game may have been an exhibition matchup, but you’d never have known judging by the intensity coming from the fans, players and coaches.
Things got ugly in the first quarter when Redskins linebacker Keenan Robinson absolutely drilled Ravens wide receiver Kamar Aiken. A scuffle then broke out, with Steve Smith and Chris Culliver trading punches (which caused them both to be ejected).
Head coaches John Harbaugh and Jay Gruden attempted to calm their respective teams down at first, but they ended up getting into a war of words with each other.
After the situation was diffused, the real winner was Steve Smith–who was able to watch the rest of the game from the stands, with his son, Peyton.
1st time I’ve ever gotten to watch a game with my dad. Thanks @NFL pic.twitter.com/8qyhHaKZJY
— P (@peytondsmith) August 30, 2015
Gruden isn’t known for being a loud, flamboyant character on the sidelines, so it’s no surprise that he took Harbaugh’s comments in stride and didn’t pour gasoline on the fire. And that was the end of their shouting match.
