PITTSBURGH — Tempers flared when bodies collided in the City of Brotherly Love, as simmering tensions between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles bubbled over. The fracas began when Steelers 6-foot-7 tight end Darnell Washington blocked Eagles corner Darius Slay through the end zone and into a padded wall at the base of the stands. Chaos ensued.
Numerous players from both teams converged. Insults flew and many people (other than the referees) saw fists fly, too. GO DEEPER Steelers offense faced its biggest test yet vs.
the Eagles. And flunked it By the time the referees separated the two sides and sorted out the penalties, they gave both to Pittsburgh: One on Washington, who is even bigger than the 264-pound listing in the program. And the other? A somewhat surprising perpetrator, Calvin Austin III, a 5-foot-9, 162-pound receiver who is often the smallest player on the field.
Advertisement “If I see plenty of Eagles come up and surround (Washington), yeah I’m gonna come in and help my dog,” Austin said after the game. “But I guess being the biggest guy out there, I’m going to get a flag thrown on me.” Though Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith made it clear this week that he’d like the aggression to take place between the whistles, that moment illuminated a side of Austin that may go overlooked.
“You look at Calvin, you be like, he’s a little dude,” Washington said. “But he actually got a little bee sting to him.” In his third NFL.
