The 10 Most Absurd On-Field Moments in NFL History
Mike Evans needed about two seconds to produce one of the most disrespectful moments in NFL history. During the 49ers’ 32-29 win over Seattle on Oct. 11, Seahawks cornerback Trevon Diggs came at Evans talking trash. Evans grabbed him, spun him around and read the name on the back of his jersey.
The NFL is a league of 300-pound men, million-dollar game plans and grown adults who sometimes forget all of that. Evans’ nameplate check got me thinking about the other times the sport went completely off the rails. Not the dirtiest plays or the biggest blunders, but the moments so ridiculous you had to rewind them to believe them.
Here are the 10 most absurd on-field moments in NFL history, counting down to the newest member of the club.
No. 10: Marcus Peters throws the flag into the stands (2017)
On Dec. 3, 2017, the Chiefs kept handing the Jets extra chances on a late go-ahead drive. Kansas City was flagged three times on the possession, and the last one, a defensive holding call on a two-point try, was too much for cornerback Marcus Peters.
Peters picked the flag up off the turf and fired it into the crowd at MetLife Stadium. A lucky fan caught it and looked like he’d won the lottery. Peters, naturally, drew another flag for unsportsmanlike conduct, then marched straight to the locker room because he thought he’d been ejected.
He hadn’t been. A Chiefs staffer went to retrieve him, and Peters jogged back to the sideline without his socks on, clearly having already started his postgame routine. The Jets won 38-31. The NFL fined Peters $24,309, and Andy Reid suspended him for the next game.
No. 9: Aqib Talib, professional chain thief (2016-17)
In the 2016 season finale, Denver cornerback Aqib Talib ripped the gold chain off Oakland receiver Michael Crabtree’s neck. His explanation was beautifully simple: Crabtree had been wearing it all year, it had been bothering him, and he warned that he’d snatch it if Crabtree wore it in front of him. Crabtree wore it. Talib snatched it.
Most people would learn from that. Crabtree did, sort of. Before the rematch on Nov. 26, 2017, he reportedly taped the chain to his chest. .
The second incident turned into a full brawl in the first quarter. Talib pulled Crabtree’s helmet off, punches flew and both were ejected. Marshawn Lynch had to escort Talib through a sea of Raiders. The NFL suspended both players two games, and the league’s letter to Talib specifically cited that he ripped the chain off just as he did the year before. Somewhere in the NFL offices, an executive had to type that sentence with a straight face.
No. 8: Geno Smith interrupts a referee who is talking to America (2023)
On Sept. 17, 2023, Seattle trailed Detroit early in the fourth quarter when a miscommunication between Geno Smith and Tyler Lockett sent a pass sailing into empty grass. The flag came out for intentional grounding, and Pete Carroll went ballistic on the sideline.
Smith went to plead his case directly to referee Alex Kemp. The problem was that Kemp’s microphone was live and he was in the middle of announcing the penalty. Kemp didn’t flinch: “I’m talking to America here, excuse me.” Then he calmly finished the call.
Fox analyst Greg Olsen called it the best line he’d ever heard from an official, and the booth could barely hold it together. Smith got the last laugh, leading Seattle to a 37-31 overtime win. But Kemp walked out of Ford Field with the best quote of the day and a new career as the NFL’s most savage referee.
No. 7: Tyreek Hill turns himself in after a touchdown (2024)
Most players spend the morning of the season opener getting taped and listening to music. Tyreek Hill spent his on the ground outside Hard Rock Stadium. On Sept. 8, 2024, police pulled him over about a block from the stadium, handcuffed him and cited him for reckless driving before releasing him in time to play.
A few hours later, with Miami down 17-7 to Jacksonville in the third quarter, Tua Tagovailoa hit Hill in stride for an 80-yard touchdown. Hill ran toward the crowd, put his hands behind his back, and Jaylen Waddle came over to slap on a pair of imaginary cuffs.
It was the rare celebration everyone saw coming and still couldn’t believe. Hill finished with seven catches for 130 yards, and the Dolphins rallied for a 20-17 win. Turning the worst morning of your season into a touchdown bit before the sun goes down takes a special kind of nerve.
No. 6: Terrell Owens claims the star at Texas Stadium (2000)
On Sept. 24, 2000, the 49ers went into Texas Stadium and Terrell Owens decided a touchdown wasn’t enough. After scoring, he sprinted to midfield and posed on the Cowboys’ star with his arms outstretched.
The Cowboys did not appreciate it. Emmitt Smith answered by scoring and spiking the ball on the star himself. Then Owens scored again and went right back to midfield. This time, Dallas safety George Teague came flying in and leveled him mid-celebration.
San Francisco won 41-24, but Steve Mariucci suspended Owens for a game anyway. It was the moment the league realized T.O. would turn any end zone, or any midfield logo, into a stage. The Sharpie and the popcorn were still to come.
No. 5: Joe Horn makes a call from the end zone (2003)
On Dec. 14, 2003, Saints receiver Joe Horn scored against the Giants, walked to the goalpost and pulled out a flip phone that had been stashed in the padding. Then he made a call.
Think about the logistics. Somebody had to hide a phone in the goalpost before the game. Horn had to remember which goalpost. And he had to actually score in that end zone, which he did, as part of a four-touchdown day.
The NFL fined him $30,000, which is roughly the cost of the most expensive phone call in league history. More than 20 years later, it’s still the standard every prop celebration gets measured against. In 2018, Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas would pay homage to Horn, recreating the celebration after scoring a 72-yard touchdown against Atlanta.
No. 4: Jay Cutler, the world’s least convincing wide receiver (2017)
On Oct. 1, 2017, the Dolphins played the Saints at Wembley Stadium in London and broke out the wildcat. Running back Jay Ajayi took the snap. Quarterback Jay Cutler split out wide right.
Then Cutler put his hands on his hips and did absolutely nothing. He didn’t run a route. He didn’t block. He didn’t sell it. He stood there like a guy waiting for his table at Applebee’s while 21 other men played football around him. Ajayi lost a yard.
The best part came afterward. Cutler said the coaches told him to sit there, not get hit, not touch anybody and not move. Head coach Adam Gase backed him up, explaining that a quarterback who steps forward becomes fair game. By his own standard, Cutler executed the play perfectly. Miami lost 20-0.
No. 3: Randy Moss moons Lambeau Field (2005)
Packers fans had a habit of mooning the Vikings’ team bus. On Jan. 9, 2005, in an NFC wild-card game at Lambeau Field, Randy Moss returned the favor.
After catching a fourth-quarter touchdown to seal a 31-17 Minnesota win, Moss walked to the goalpost, rubbed his backside against it, then turned and pretended to pull his pants down at the crowd. Joe Buck called it a disgusting act on the Fox broadcast, which only made it funnier.
The NFL fined Moss $10,000. Asked how he’d pay it, he gave the most Randy Moss answer possible: “Straight cash, homey.” A fake moon in a road playoff game, followed by the greatest fine quote ever recorded. Few moments capture a player’s whole personality this perfectly.
No. 2: Antonio Brown karate kicks a punter (2014)
In the 2014 season opener, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin put Antonio Brown back on punt returns, saying he wouldn’t live with his fears. It took one game for that to get weird.
On Sept. 7, Brown broke a 46-yard return against Cleveland with only punter Spencer Lanning left to beat. Brown went airborne, apparently trying to hurdle him, and instead planted a cleat directly into Lanning’s facemask. It looked less like a football play and more like the crane kick from “The Karate Kid.” The internet noticed immediately.
Brown drew a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty and an $8,268 fine. He insisted there was no intent, saying he thought Lanning was going low. Maybe so. But no punter in NFL history has been on the wrong end of a better highlight.
No. 1: Mike Evans checks Trevon Diggs’ nameplate (2026)
The 49ers and Seahawks played a Week 5 game on Oct. 11 that had everything: seven turnovers, an ejection for a headbutt and a 32-29 San Francisco win over the defending champs. None of that is what anyone will remember.
After a physical play, Diggs walked up to Evans talking trash. Evans calmly took him by the shoulder pads, turned him around and inspected the name on the back of his jersey, as if checking who exactly was speaking to him. Diggs slapped his hand away. Evans strutted off. Richard Sherman, the greatest trash talker of his generation, posted that it was an all-time moment he wished he’d thought of himself.
Then Evans made it even better. After the game, he insisted he wasn’t trolling at all. He said it’s hard to tell who players are in a helmet, so he checked, and his reaction was essentially, “Oh, it’s Diggs.” Whether you believe him or not doesn’t matter. Either he pulled off the coldest bit of disrespect in league history, or he genuinely didn’t recognize a former All-Pro. Both are No. 1 material. And he backed it up with 113 yards and a touchdown.
The bar has been raised
The NFL will keep producing chaos as long as it puts competitive, emotional people in pads and asks them to stay calm for three hours. But Evans set a new standard. He didn’t need a prop, a punch or a phone. He just needed to read.
