Tennessee Titans

Titans, Broncos Get Into Brawl Over Harry Douglas Cheap Shot (Video)

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

The Tennessee Titans and Denver Broncos wound up in a brawl after Aqib Talib retaliated for a dirty block and cheap shot on Chris Harris by Harry Douglas.

If there’s one thing that will get tempers flaring between two teams in the NFL, it’s a dirty hit or cheap shot. Though you never want to see it, that type of play almost always leads to some sort of retaliation. And that was certainly the case with what happened in Nashville in NFL Week 14 between the Denver Broncos and Tennessee Titans.

Everything started while the Titans had the ball. On a running play where Broncos safety Chris Harris and Titans wideout Harry Douglas weren’t even really involved, the veteran Douglas hit the latter with one of the dirtiest blocks you’ll ever see.

Douglas took a dive right at the back of Harris’ leg in the open field with the Broncos defensive star unable to brace himself in any way. It was a complete cheap shot and Harris ended up leaving the game injured because of it. Here’s a look at the dirty block:

Just in case you are wondering why Talib went after Douglas…. #Broncos #DENvsTEN pic.twitter.com/fT4x0Fjvsj

— IG: Hernandez_LA (@EHernandezTV) December 11, 2016

That’s despicable. And frankly, it’s hard to even be mad at Aqib Talib for what happened soon after.

Just a few plays later, the Broncos cornerback went after Douglas and took him to the ground ready to fight. However, it wound up not just being those two fighting as a massive brawl broke out between the two teams with what looked like a few dozen players from each roster getting involved:

The fight between #Broncos CB Aqib Talib and #Titans WR Harry Dougles, started a big scrum pic.twitter.com/0ONpNanXkd

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) December 11, 2016

Here’s the Broncos-Titans brawl! pic.twitter.com/QhATtT2aNS

— #HollyHoodHogan (@fearthe_beard11) December 11, 2016

Without question, this is something that you never want to see from start to finish.

That being said, you can’t truly fault Talib for trying to teach Douglas a lesson after taking such a cheap shot on Harris that could have seriously injured him. These athletes and teammates form a brotherhood and that first block can’t happen. So while it’s not a good look at any point, the retaliation may have been, at the very least, explicable.