Monday Night Football took a scary turn for Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba when he ended up helmetless on the Texans’ sideline. When the tension was about to reach its ultimate form, field judge Nate Jones stepped in, preventing the situation from escalating further like a pure football spirit.
Later, an insider revealed that Jones actually had a decorated football career. NFL fans are proud that a former footballer has reached the pinnacle of the officiating mountaintop just 6 years later.
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Jones sprinted to the scene and went full bodyguard mode, putting himself between the Seahawks star and the swarm of angry Texans players. The camera captured him spreading arms along the bench to shield Smith-Njigba until chaos cooled.
The moment has since turned viral online. It turns out Jones wasn’t just some zebra making a split-second call; he’s got serious NFL pedigree.
NFL insider Peter Schrager shared the details on his recent tweet. Sharing the video of this tense moment, he wrote, “This official is Nate Jones. Jones was a DB at Rutgers, was a 7th round pick of the Cowboys in 2004, and had a 7 year NFL career. He’s been an official since 2019. Kudos to him for this and kudos to the ESPN crew who named him on the MNF broadcast.”
This official is Nate Jones.
Jones was a DB at Rutgers, was a 7th round pick of the Cowboys in 2004, and had a 7 year NFL career.
He’s been an official since 2019.
Kudos to him for this and kudos to the ESPN crew who named him on the MNF broadcast. pic.twitter.com/vkBwqbbens
— Peter Schrager (@PSchrags) October 21, 2025
After the scuffle, Smith-Njigba stayed cool and even joked about the whole thing. “Nah, I told him I felt comfortable over there. It’s Monday night, not really worried about anything when it comes to my face and all that,” JSN said.
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Smith-Njigba finished the game with eight catches for 123 yards and a touchdown. Jones ensured JSN stayed on the field to cook until the final whistle, precisely what a good DB-turned-ref would do.
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Fans on social media did not waste time rooting for Jones’ heroics.
One fan wrote, “Mad respect for the ref here.”
Another added, “the way the referee shielded him with his body omg that was the cutest thing ive seen i want a man like that.”
A third fan claimed, “How does a guy become an official in 2019 and make it to the pinnacle of the officiating mountaintop just 6 years later?”
A fourth shared, “former db turned ref protecting the wr? poetic.”
The fifth noted, “I want him speaking to America next week!”
A sixth user added, “Give this man an award.”
A seventh remarked, “Love seeing former players transition to officiating successfully – brings such valuable perspective to the game. That’s a serious glow up from 7th rounder to NFL official!”
The whole sequence started because JSN had been torching Houston all night, recording about half of Seattle’s catches. But thanks to Jones’ quick thinking and DB instincts, what could’ve been an all-out brawl turned into just another chippy MNF moment.
