Revealing mistake: When Hightower throws the football to the hood, the hood flies back to hit the door. After he hits it, you can see the black wire that pulled him.
Revealing mistake: In the scene where Captain Mowser gets his hands glued to his head, he walks out into the locker room naked. In wide shots, you can see that he is wearing a nude coloured body suit.
Answer: First: they threw the first punches, which Jones blocked. Second: they were criminals assaulting a member of the public. Third: they continued attacking him, so he continued to fight them.
Greg Dwyer