Early in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, California, Seattle Seahawks cornerback Josh Jobe and New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs crossed a line that caught everyone’s attention. As the scuffle unfolded in real time, Mike Vrabel completely lost patience and erupted at an NFL official on the sideline.

Following a first-down scramble by the Patriots quarterback Drake Maye from the New England 35, Stefon Diggs and Josh Jobe tangled near the boundary. However, despite the obvious contact after the play, the officials kept their flags in their pockets.

Because of that silence, Mike Vrabel clearly was not buying what the referees were selling. He rushed to the referee and confronted him in a heated exchange.

Jobe knocked Diggs to the turf when the receiver was clearly out of bounds, and Diggs went straight back at Jobe. During the exchange, Diggs pulled Jobe’s facemask, and then Jobe responded by striking Diggs in the facemask twice. One came open-handed, while the other was a punch.

Naturally, that sequence left Vrabel furious over what he felt was a blatant missed call. Not long after, the broadcast booth backed up that frustration.

NBC rules analyst Terry McAulay did not dance around the issue and said the initial hit out of bounds “absolutely” should have drawn a penalty. Furthermore, he explained that the confrontation afterward warranted more than one flag, which only amplified the disbelief among the Patriots’ sideline.

Still, the silver lining arrived quickly for New England. The missed calls did not derail the drive, as Maye later connected with Mack Hollins on a 35-yard touchdown pass.

Still, while the scoreboard favored the Patriots in that moment, one thing remains clear. Both players will hear from the league office, and fines feel inevitable after such a messy exchange. Interestingly, there was another incident where Diggs could have started another altercation.

Stefon Diggs sparked chaos near the sideline

With Mike Vrabel’s Patriots stuck in the mud offensively in the first half, frustration started boiling over on the sideline. What seemed like routine jawing quickly escalated into something far more serious. As tensions rose, Diggs found himself at the heart of a near fistfight with the Seahawks, turning an already tense moment into full-blown sideline chaos.

In a clip shared by NFL writer John Frascella on X, both sides looked, in his words, “ready to fistfight” as tempers flared during the second quarter. At that point, there were just under ten minutes left in the half, and New England trailed 6-0. On a difficult 3rd-and-17, Diggs came up with a catch that briefly gave the Patriots some life. However, instead of calming things down, the play only seemed to add fuel to the fire.

Moments later, Diggs gained five yards before stepping out of bounds near the Seahawks’ bench. After landing, he abruptly turned back, reacting to something said or done behind him. That reaction appeared to set him off instantly. As a result, several Seahawks players quickly closed in, and the situation teetered on the edge.

Fortunately, before it crossed the line, a referee rushed over and physically pulled the 32-year-old away, preventing a far uglier scene from unfolding.

If it hadn’t slowed down, things could have ended badly for Diggs. In that scenario, the four-time Pro Bowler would have been badly outmatched, and the night would have had a different storyline.