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          Ravens' Steve Smith, Redskins' Chris Culliver ejected after heated exchange

          • Jamison Hensley, ESPN Staff WriterAug 29, 2015, 08:43 PM ET
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              Jamison Hensley is a reporter covering the Baltimore Ravens for ESPN. Jamison joined ESPN in 2011, covering the AFC North before focusing exclusively on the Ravens beginning in 2013. Jamison won the National Sports Media Association Maryland Sportswriter of the Year award in 2018, and he authored a book titled: Flying High: Stories of the Baltimore Ravens. He was the Ravens beat writer for the Baltimore Sun from 2000-2011.
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          BALTIMORE -- Ravens wide receiver Steve Smith and Washington Redskins cornerback Chris Culliver were ejected with less than a minute left in the first quarter of a preseason game Saturday night.

          Smith and Culliver grabbed each other's jerseys and engaged in a shoving match after the teams converged with 30 seconds remaining in the first quarter, when Ravens receiver Kamar Aiken was lifted and thrown down headfirst into the turf by Redskins linebacker Keenan Robinson.

          No punches were thrown, but there is a new rules emphasis on fighting this year.

          Smith took a bow before exiting the field and received a standing ovation from several fans at M&T Bank Stadium.

          It was a heated exchange, and Ravens coach John Harbaugh ran to the Redskins' sideline to help pull his players away from the scrum.

          "It wasn't getting calmed down very quickly. We get the memos about fighting," Harbaugh said after the Ravens' 31-13 loss. "So, I figured, 'Let me go out there and just kind of get our guys out of the way and it'll be fine.' That's the way it worked out."

          After removing his players from the scene, Harbaugh started shouting at Washington coach Jay Gruden, but maintained after the game that something was said to him, not the other way around.

          "That doesn't bother me, what gets said to me out there," Harbaugh added.

          Smith made an impact on the game before his ejection. He caught four passes for 95 yards and scored on a 63-yard touchdown on the fourth play of the game.

          Asked if he was surprised by Smith's ejection, Harbaugh said he didn't really see what happened, but was pleased to hear there were no punches thrown.

          "To me, it's walk back to the huddle. You move back to the huddle and play the next play," the Ravens' coach said. "You do your talking with your play."

          Following his ejection, Smith watched the rest of the game from a suite with his family.

          Smith's son, Peyton, tweeted that this was the first time he'd ever been able to watch a game with his father.