Mike Tomlin fumes at NFL refs' handling of fight between Steelers, Eagles

PHILADELPHIA — Darius Slay called it a "hockey moment."

Mike Tomlin was so disgusted he told an official to "get the (expletive) away from me."

The Philadelphia Eagles' 27-13 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday was briefly interrupted by a skirmish near the home team tunnel with four minutes left in the first quarter and the Eagles leading 3-0.

Steelers running back Najee Harris took a short pass from Russell Wilson 7 yards to the Philadelphia 4-yard line. Slay did not take kindly to Steelers tight end Darnell Washington finishing his block beyond the end zone and threw a right cross at the second-year player's helmet. Apparently, the refs did not see it, and neither did the replay officials reviewing the play.

"No punches (by the Eagles) were observed on the field," referee Alan Eck told a pool reporter. "Since we had flags down, it gave New York an opportunity to review the play as well. There was no video evidence of punches observed by the Philadelphia Eagles."

But they did see Washington commit unnecessary roughness. They also flagged Steelers wide receiver Calvin Austin III for his role in the ensuing brouhaha that players on the field eventually sorted out without coaches or teammates from either bench joining in.

“If I see plenty of Eagles come up and surround him, yeah, I’m gonna come in and help my dog,” Austin said.

At 5-foot-9 and 162 pounds, Austin joked that his size is what drew the officials' attention to him.

“I guess being the biggest guy out there, I’m gonna get a flag thrown on me,” Austin said.

Eagles cornerback Quinyon Mitchell and Steelers offensive tackle Broderick Jones were also involved.

“I was just doing my assignment, doing my job,” Washington said. “I thought I just played through the whistle, man. I guess you can say I kind of went overboard, if you want to. But at the end of the day, I felt like I ain’t do nothing crazy. Just blocking him and held it a little bit longer than I should have.”

Eck looked poised to declare offsetting penalties but announced the two flags were both on the offense. The Eagles technically accepted Austin's to move the Steelers back 15 yards.

While receiving his explanation from the down judge, Tomlin was caught by FOX broadcast cameras impolitely telling the official what he thought of the calls.

“I’ll let them explain that sequence. Why should I explain it?" Tomlin said after the game.

Asked what type of explanation he received, Tomin replied: "Not a sufficient one."

One play earlier, the Steelers had forced their second fumble of the opening quarter started the drive at the Philadelphia 11-yard line. But backed up to the edge of the red zone, Wilson threw two incompletions and Chris Boswell made a 37-yard field goal to tie the game at 3.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Steelers vs Eagles fight leaves Mike Tomlin irate with NFL refs