PHILADELPHIA – Darius Slay called it a “hockey moment.”

Mike Tomlin was so disgusted that he told an officer to “take the curse word away from me.”

The Philadelphia Eagles’ 27-13 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday was briefly interrupted by a skirmish near the home team’s tunnel, with the Eagles leading 3-0 with four minutes left in the first quarter.

Steelers running back Najee Harris took a short pass from Russell Wilson 7 yards to the Philadelphia 4-yard line. Slay didn’t respond kindly to the Steelers tight end. Darnell Washington completed his block beyond the end zone and threw a right cross toward the second-year player’s helmet. Apparently the referees didn’t see it, and neither did the replay officials reviewing the game.

“No hitting was observed (by the Eagles) on the field,” referee Alan Eck told a pool reporter. “Having the flags down also gave New York a chance to review the game. There was no video evidence of any punches witnessed by the Philadelphia Eagles.”

But they saw that Washington was being unnecessarily harsh. They also blamed Steelers wide receiver Calvin Austin III for his role in the ensuing riot, which the players on the field were eventually able to resolve without the involvement of coaches or teammates on either bench.

“If I see a lot of Eagles coming at him and surrounding him, I’m going to come in and help my dog,” Austin said.

At 5-foot-10 and weighing 180 pounds, Austin joked that it was his height that drew officers’ attention to him.

“I guess since I’m the biggest guy out there, I’ll get a flag,” Austin said.

Eagles cornerback Quinyon Mitchell and Steelers offensive tackle Broderick Jones were also involved.

“I was just doing my job, doing my job,” Washington said. “I thought I just played through the whistle, man. I guess you could say I kind of overdid it, if you will. But at the end of the day I felt like I wasn’t doing anything crazy. I just blocked him and lasted a little longer than I should have.”

Eck appeared ready to give compensatory penalties, but announced that the two flags were both on offense. The Eagles technically accepted that Austin pushed the Steelers back 15 yards.

As Tomlin received his statement from the devastated judge, he was caught on FOX broadcast cameras rudely telling the officer what he thought of the calls.

“I’ll let you explain this sequence. “Why should I explain it?” Tomlin said after the game.

Asked what kind of explanation he received, Tomin replied: “Not a sufficient one.”

One play earlier, the Steelers had forced their second fumble of the first quarter and started the drive at the Philadelphia 11-yard line. But on the edge of the red zone, Wilson threw two incompletions and Chris Boswell hit a 37-yard field goal to tie the game 3-0.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Steelers-Eagles fight has Mike Tomlin angry at NFL refs