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Texans' Tommy Townsend and Ref Push Each Other Away Before Punt

Stephen Douglas

Tommy Townsend pushing an official.
Tommy Townsend pushing an official. / Prime
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The punters in the New York Jets-Houston Texans game in Week 9 had a very busy first quarter as the teams combined for four punts on the first five possessions of the game. While New York's Thomas Morstead had more yardage, Houston's Tommy Townsend made all the headlines.

Not only was Townsend the victim of a roughing the kicker penalty that earned him a trip to the blue tent, but he also got into a shoving match with an unlikely opponent—umpire Terry Killens.

As the Texans lined up for their first punt of the evening, Killens backpedaled out of the way so the play could begin, but he came a little to close for the punter's comfort so Townsend stuck out his arm and pushed the official to the side.

To make it even weirder, Killens then attempted to swat Townsend's hand away. It honestly looked like two little kids whose mother had just turned her back after saying, "Keep your hands to yourselves!"

It seems unlikely you'll ever see a punter and ref get into a shoving match again, but now we know to never say never.

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Stephen Douglas
STEPHEN DOUGLAS

Stephen Douglas is a Senior Writer on the Breaking & Trending News Team at Sports Illustrated. He has been in journalism and media since 2008, and now casts a wide net with coverage across all sports. Stephen spent more than a decade with The Big Lead and has previously written for Uproxx and The Sporting News. He has three children, two degrees and one now unverified Twitter account.

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