For Week 2 of the NFL season, ESPN aired two games for Monday Night Football, albeit separated by about an hour. The first game was between the rival New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers. The Saints kept pace with the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, defeating the Panthers 20-17 to maintain their 2-0 record and maintaining the three-way tie for first place in the NFC South.
But after the game, the bad blood between the Saints and Panthers continued.
A video surfaced from the tunnel of Bank of America Stadium of Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas getting into an argument with Panthers defensive tackle Derrick Brown. As Thomas walked away, Brown tried to charge after him but was held back by a member of the Panthers coaching staff.
The video comes courtesy of Twitter user Jono Barnes. Warning -- there is NSFW language used in the clip.
Michael Thomas, Derrick Brown get in heated exchange after Saints-Panthers game in Week 2
There was a bit of backstory from the Saints side regarding what caused Thomas and Brown to exchange words.
Saints head coach Dennis Allen was asked about the incident and said that Thomas walked into the wrong tunnel on his way back to the visiting locker room, via ESPN's Katherine Terrell. Since Thomas walked down the tunnel leading to the Panthers locker room, players on the home team took exception, with Brown confronting him.
Thomas is coming off of another solid showing to start off the 2023 season. After dealing with a variety of injuries over the past couple of years, Thomas showed that he still has it. Notably, Thomas made an impressive first down catch along the sideline over Carolina cornerback Donte Jackson. All in all, Thomas caught seven of nine targets for 55 yards.
As for Brown, he recorded three solo tackles, three assisted tackles, and two defensive stops in 72 tops, per Pro Football Focus.
The next time the two teams meet will be in Week 14 in New Orleans.
