The L.A. Rams and Buffalo Bills' season opener nearly went up in smoke on Thursday ... when protesters rushed the field with a pink flare -- with one being dragged off by security.
Two women somehow found their way onto the field during the fourth quarter at SoFi Stadium ... as many in the sold-out crowd whipped their phones out to record the debacle.
Former NFL player Emmanuel Acho was one of them -- and you can see in his footage one of the two women was holding up a pink smoke bomb while racing down the field like a running back.
SoFi security quickly caught up to her and tackled her to the ground -- right in front of the Bills' defensive huddle -- before hauling her away.
The protesters wore a RightToRescue.com shirt, which is a website that claims to help "the whistleblowers facing prison time for exposing factory farm abuses and rescuing suffering animals."
BREAKING! @DxEverywhere activists disrupt Rams Bills Thursday Night Football with pink smoke flares & to draw attention to #SmithfieldTrial for the #RightToRescue as @waynehhsiung & @101Darwins face over a decade in prison for rescuing sick baby piglets. https://t.co/fMG0atOTqJ pic.twitter.com/V04PTmjHQM
— Direct Action Everywhere (@DxEverywhere) September 9, 2022
Direct Action Everywhere took responsibility for the protest and released a statement saying the two women were there to bring awareness to the upcoming trial of Smithfield Foods factory farm whistleblowers.
"The protest aims to shine a light on what DxE calls a landmark trial for animal rights, food justice and free speech, and more broadly, on the entire animal agricultural industry, which DxE says is inherently abusive and exploitative."
That wasn't the only wild scene of opening night -- Rams and Bills fans got into a fight after the game ... right in front of Acho and ex-NFL star LeSean McCoy.