SANTA CLARA, Calif. — A late hit to the head of Chicago Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky in the waning minutes of Sunday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers sparked a brawl that led to the ejection of three players, including Niners cornerback Richard Sherman.
With 5 minutes, 39 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Trubisky scrambled to his left for a gain of 7 yards before sliding to the ground. Niners rookie safety Marcell Harris ran at Trubisky and lowered his hands and shoulder toward Trubisky after the quarterback had given himself up, drawing a flag for unnecessary roughness and a huge reaction from Chicago’s sideline.
As multiple Bears rushed to stick up for Trubisky, other Niners entered the fray, setting off a fight that included multiple shoving matches and a flurry of punches. Bears receiver Anthony Miller immediately hit Harris, drawing another flag for unnecessary roughness.
Sherman, who ran across the field to get into the mix, engaged with Bears receiver Joshua Bellamy and appeared to be throwing punches as Bellamy fought back. After officials spent a few minutes sorting out the scrum, Sherman, Bellamy and Miller were ejected and made their way to the locker room.
Trubisky did not suffer any apparent injuries and remained in the game.
According to ESPN Stats & Information research, that brings the ejection total across the NFL this season to 17, the highest in any season since 2001, following the three ejections in the Niners-Bears game and the ejection of the New York Jets‘ Leonard Williams earlier Sunday. The previous high was 13. There have now been 30 ejections since Week 9 of last season.