The Biggest Brawls In Football History

If the NFL names a rule after you, then you probably did something very, very wrong. So it is with the Ben Davidson Rule and the quarterback hit that made fans flinch everywhere. On November 1, 1970, the Kansas City Chiefs were inching ahead of the Oakland Raiders by 17-14 towards the end of the

If the NFL names a rule after you, then you probably did something very, very wrong. So it is with the Ben Davidson Rule and the quarterback hit that made fans flinch everywhere. On November 1, 1970, the Kansas City Chiefs were inching ahead of the Oakland Raiders by 17-14 towards the end of the game, and decided to run out the clock, per Sportscasting. Chiefs quarterback Len Dawson secured a first down which should've ended the game. But Dawson had not been touched as he slid, and, in those hard knock days of the NFL, it was legal to hit a player who was down, per Sports Illustrated. Defensive end Ben Davidson took advantage of the rule and speared his helmet into Dawson's back.

Kansas receiver Otis Taylor was reasonably angered by the unnecessary hit on his teammate and retaliated against Davidson. The two fought on the field and were joined by other teammates. However, the offsetting penalties wiped away Dawson's progress, and the Chiefs were forced to redo the down. Luck was not on their side this time, and the Chiefs were forced to punt. The game ended in a tie, but the Raiders eventually won the division by one game. The brutal hit forced the NFL to reconsider their rules on fallen players, and, more significantly, fueled a modern rivalry, per Sportscasting.

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