The Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs both had a lot on the line in Week 15, causing tensions to rise when Tony Jefferson hit Tyquan Thornton in the fourth quarter. While the play led to an on-field scuffle and Jefferson's ejection, Jim Harbaugh still stands by his player.

The hit kept Thornton on the field for several minutes while several Chiefs players took exception to it and immediately got into Jefferson's face. Harbaugh briefly got involved on the field and supported the hit as a “football play” after the game.

“I saw a football play, is what I saw,” Harbaugh told reporters. “I was told that was the ruling and New York saw it as an ejection. The message to our team was to keep playing ball. Just keep playing. I saw all legal hits.”

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The play in question came over the middle of the field. Thornton caught a seam pass from Patrick Mahomes and was immediately drilled by Jefferson.

The hit itself was not malicious, but Jefferson's helmet made contact with Thornton's, which slammed into the turf. Travis Kelce and Rashee Rice were the first to react and immediately got into Jefferson's face, who held his ground.

Jefferson's hit on Thornton was an accumulation of plays he made throughout the course of the game. The veteran safety routinely punished Chiefs receivers over the middle of the field, repeatedly colliding with Rice, Thornton and Kelce with violence.

Jefferson showed no remorse for any of his actions after getting ejected, flipping off the Arrowhead Stadium crowd as he jogged into the tunnel. He has since issued an apology for those actions.