Why did the Seahawks and Jaguars fight at the end of the game?

The Jacksonville Jaguars just needed to kneel out the clock to finish a 30-24 win over the Seattle Seahawks, but couldn’t do so without several penalties and ejections in the final minute.

Luckily for both sides, no suspensions will be handed out for the incident — though discipline will still be handed out. That’s not the case for the four fans who were identified by the Jaguars as the ones who threw things at Quinton Jefferson. Those four fans will be banned.

It started with a big scuffle

A fight broke out between the two teams when Sheldon Richardson bulldozed through the Jaguars offensive line on a kneel down and Michael Bennett rolled into the legs of offensive linemen.

Richardson was ejected from the game and the Seahawks picked up two personal fouls, while the Jaguars got one on Leonard Fournette, who jumped into the fray.

Why did Bennett do that?

It’s hard to say. It could have just been frustration, but there’s also some precedent. A closer look reveals that Bennett may have been trying to swat the snap away in order to get the ball back to the Seahawks with a little time left on the clock. It’s a move that almost never works, and causes more trouble than it’s probably worth, as evidenced here.

Pete Carroll said that was the case a day later.

Bennett wasn’t saying much about it when asked after the game.

The NFL evidently agreed and opted not to fine Bennett:

Then the Seahawks did it again and Jaguars fans got involved

On the next play, chaos broke out again with two more personal fouls on the Seahawks and an ejection for defensive lineman Quinton Jefferson, who then began arguing and yelling at fans who threw drinks at him.

As he turned to walk away, he’s hit by something, what looks like a drink, thrown from the stands. That’s when he charged over to confront the fans again, and started to climb into the stands.

And here’s video of it:

Jefferson was eventually escorted to the locker room, but the game was over by the time he was removed from the field.

Reporters surrounded Jefferson at his locker after the game, but he didn’t have much to say. He just sat there stunned. Bennett chased the press away.

A review by the team’s security staff identified four fans who threw five things, including beverages, popcorn and a plastic bottle. Those fans will be banned from attending all future Jaguars games.

Besides throwing things at Jefferson, those fans were screaming insults at him, according to two others in the stands next to them.

That didn’t stop Jefferson or several other players from receiving fines, though.

Here’s what was said after the game

Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles had an interesting explanation for the bad blood at the end of the game, telling reporters that teams just don’t know how to handle losing to a team that was a perennial doormat.

That might be a logical explanation too.

In March, Bennett told reporters that “most of the NFL games are decided by one point unless you're playing the Jaguars or something. Then it's decided by 50.”

That comment didn’t go unnoticed by the Jaguars, according to defensive end Yannick Ngakoue:

Even after Bortles finished with 268 passing yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, the Seahawks still didn’t really want to give him his due.

The penalties came after the Jaguars got a game-sealing first down, but Pete Carroll wasn’t happy with the discipline of his team down the stretch:

Carroll picked up a penalty himself when he ran on to the field to break up a second fight. After the game, he explained his actions and talked about Jefferson’s interactions with fans:

Carroll received a $10,000 fine for running on the field:

Sheldon Richardson also explained his actions:

The Jaguars saw things differently, though.

As far as stadium security goes, the NFL will be looking into that:

The Jaguars later released a statement:

The loss dropped the Seahawks to 8-5, but the team is fortunate not to receive suspensions too.

The top stories from Sunday's NFL action