Burfict was already fined $69,454 by the National Football League for three penalties committed against the Steelers in Week 14, including a low hit on Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger.
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Landry Jones, in his third series in relief of Roethlisberger, tried to force a throw over the middle to Markus Wheaton, who had not separated almost enough from Burfict.
Still, Roethlisberger didn’t attempt any intermediate or long passes, and seemed unable to use his full throwing motion. Jones, Burfict and Porter are likely to be on that list. The feeling was that they’d rather let him do those short throws to the Steelers’ talented receivers to give them a shot in space, than to have Jones attack downfield. It began with Steelers offensive line coach Mike Munchak flagged for a 15-yard penalty after grabbing Bengals safety Reggie Nelson in the first quarter, and it spilled into numerous skirmishes and fights among the players on the field throughout the contest.
On the very next play, Jeremy Hill fumbled the ball when all the Bengals had to do was kill the clock with the lead.
Clear intent to injure another player through twisting of the ankle.
When all was said and done, the Bengals lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers 18-16, and if the team is going to choose a scapegoat, they should definitely point to Vontaze Burfict. That gave the Steelers the ball at the 17, where Boswell booted the winning field goal.
“I was just a little upset they are celebrating”, Hill said. In two plays, the Steelers were gifted 30 yards by Bengals players lacking the necessary discipline to grasp the enormity of the moment and keep their composure. While the Pittsburgh Steelers, who defeated the Bengals 18-16 at Paul Brown Stadium, engaged in their fair share of atrocious behavior, the display that the Bengals put on throughout the entire game was absolutely inexcusable.
The Bengals will need to do some soul searching in the offseason.
Will they move on from the characters without character, Burfict and Jones?
Marvin Lewis has now finished 12 seasons as Bengals head coach and has as many playoff wins as this writer. Knowing the way the Bengals do business, probably not.
What’s the definition of insanity?
The Chiefs will travel to either the top-seeded Denver Broncos or New England Patriots next weekend depending on the outcome of Saturday’s other American Football Conference wild card duel between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.
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The implosion of Marvin Lewis’ Cincinnati Bengals continued when Adam Jones pulled a referee out of the way in an effort to go after a Steelers player. I’ve never seen that kind of inhumanity.
