NEW YORK (Sept. 15, 2005) -- Nine players were fined for their roles in a fight before Monday night's game between the Eagles and Falcons, with Atlanta defensive tackle Chad Lavalais drawing the biggest fine -- $7,500 -- for a hit on Donovan McNabb during the game.
Lavalais was fined for using his helmet on McNabb, who hurt his chest on the play. McNabb is questionable for Philadelphia's game Sunday against San Francisco because of the injury.
For the pregame fight, which resulted in Falcons cornerback Kevin Mathis and Eagles linebacker Jeremiah Trotter being ejected before kickoff, both players got $5,000 fines. Also receiving a $5,000 hit was cornerback DeAngelo Hall for unsportsmanlike conduct for grabbing an opponent's facemask and then throwing the opponent's helmet.
Three Falcons were fined $2,500 for entering a fight area, which made them active participants: safety Keion Carpenter, cornerback-kick returner Allen Rossum and safety Kevin McCadam.
Along with Trotter, the three Eagles fined for entering a fight area were linebackers Keith Adams, Jason Short and Mike Labinjo.
During warmups, Trotter apparently pushed Mathis, who responded with a punch. Hall also appeared to throw a punch. Then everyone got into it, forcing the officials to intervene.
Trotter and Mathis were ejected after the officials peered into the replay monitor, which is normally used to rectify disputed calls during the game. This time, it helped determine who started the fight and which players were involved.
Moments later, another brawl nearly broke out. As the Atlanta players were trotting back to the locker room, they noticed the Eagles gathering on the Falcons logo in the middle of the field.
The Falcons ran en masse back to the 50-yard line and fought for position with the Eagles, forcing the officials to separate the teams again. No punches were thrown, and both teams went off slowly in opposite directions to their respective locker rooms.
