The Denver Broncos-Oakland Raiders rivalry has seen plenty of competitive moments over the years, but a controversy over a player ripping off an opponent’s gold chain after a play feels like a new one.
That’s what happened Sunday, though, with Broncos’ defensive back Aqib Talib in coverage on Raiders’ receiver Michael Crabtree. After a play where Crabtree couldn’t haul in a pass down the sidelines and Talib knocked him down, the two started jawing at each other and pushing and shoving, and Talib then reached in and ripped off Crabtree’s gold chain. Here’s video of the play as it happened:
Crabtree and Talib then yelled at each other from the sidelines:
Here’s a slow-motion look at the chain rip:
This is quite the unusual thing to see on the field. Jewelry can rip when players are making tackles, but seeing one player reach in and rip an opponent’s chain this way is a little more out of the norm. This may only add to the Raiders-Broncos rivalry, and it certainly shows that there aren’t good feelings between Talib and Crabtree. No penalty was handed out on the play, but we’ll see if there’s any punishment for Talib after this.
Update: Here’s Talib talking about this afterwards:
Aqib Talib: "I told him if he wears that chain in front of me I'm gonna snatched it off him." #Broncos pic.twitter.com/D0b7onr5ho
— RG 📷 (@RyanGreeneDNVR) January 2, 2017
[Matt Clapp on Clippit]
