They've put up 30 or more points in each of their last five games, and their defense, led by first-year coordinator Keith Butler, probably doesn't get enough credit. The Bengals (10-3) should be extremely thankful they built such a big lead in the division because the Steelers (8-5) are rolling. "Tom Brady was in the same situation when he got the opportunity," McCarron said of his chance to shine. He said he'll know more on Monday after seeing a specialist. Once Dalton showed up on the sideline with a cast on his hand, it was pretty clear this game was over - and the Bengals' season was in jeopardy as well.Įarly indications from the Bengals' postgame locker room were that Dalton is out at least for the rest of the regular season, with a return at some point in the playoffs a possibility. The problem for Cincinnati is the Steelers got the early lead and remained fired up while the injuries to Dalton, Eifert and Iloka quickly deflated the Bengals. Bengals cornerback Adam Jones went off on the Steelers' "gangsters" in an Instagram video posted before the game and that caught a lot of people's attention after it. A few minutes later, Burfict got away with an attempted kick to a Steeler's head while he was getting up off the ground.Īfter the game, Bengals offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth blamed the NFL for not stepping in after Williams' tweets. The physical play spilled over into the early part of the first quarter, when Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown and Bengals corner Dre Kirkpatrick drew offsetting penalties when they got into a slap fight after a play. I don't know what the rules are on that, but it's pretty stupid."
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"Vinny came over and got in his face and it escalated from there. It's like, 'Is this guy really doing this?' He's just walking over looking like he's taunting us. I don't know how that guy was on our side of the field. "The cheap-shot, extracurricular stuff, we knew we were going to have to do it," Steelers guard David DeCastro said.
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Would the Steelers have beaten the Bengals as convincingly without Burfict's pregame instigation? Perhaps.Īndy Dalton still would've fractured his hand, Tyler Eifert still would've suffered a concussion, George Iloka still would've left the game due to a nagging groin injury and the Bengals still probably would've been as flat as they were, despite some solid play late in the game from AJ McCarron (22-for-32 for 280 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions - one of which was returned by William Gay for a touchdown) that should give them a bit of confidence he can play well in Dalton's absence.īut Burfict's pregame antics, which might have been in response to Steelers defensive lineman Vince Williams' tweet last month saying he would be "painting that boi on sight" if he saw him in South Beach, gave the visitors an energy boost and a reason to brag afterward. We won the AFC North last year, they wanted to be AFC North champs today, and we weren't having that." Williams added: "We knew going in that it would be a physical game. "Any of those guys who are asleep and not ready to play, when you do something like that during pregame and you start the pushing and the shoving and the skirmishes that were going on out there, you wake everybody up," Steelers running back DeAngelo Williams told FOX Sports in the locker room after the Steelers knocked off the Bengals 33-20 for their fourth win in five games. They'd be directing their ire toward him, so he apparently wanted to beat them to the punch by stirring things up in the pregame.Īfter a few shoves and some barking between the players, the Steelers were ready to go. He was the one who knocked Le'Veon Bell out for the season earlier this year, and the Steelers didn't like the way he celebrated while Bell was down in pain. The Steelers' players were on their backs, getting loose for what they knew would be a physical game that would take its toll on their bodies when Vontaze Burfict walked over to their side of the field.Įven the Bengals' players had a feeling Burfict was going to create a stir Sunday.