We all knew it was coming. Vontaze Burfict was out of control for most of the second half of Saturday’s AFC Wild Card game featuring the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers, and in the end he lost his mind at the most critical moment.
Pittsburgh was having a hard time moving into field goal range, and Ben Roethlisberger had just missed Antonio Brown with 22 seconds left on the clock. But then Burfict drew a stupid penalty when he blew up Brown after he missed the catch.
It was a brutal, intentional head-hunting job by the linebacker, who will certainly be fined for his actions.
Here is a clip of the play:
https://twitter.com/TheCauldron/status/686049059174510592
Making matters worse, Adam Jones also drew a 15-yard penalty, giving Pittsburgh an easy chip-shot field goal to win the game. Chris Boswell drilled the 35-yarder for the win, giving the Steelers a 18-16 win and sending them into the next round of the playoffs.
Meanwhile, the Bengals still haven’t won a playoff game since 1991, thanks to an unbelievably brutal hit by one of the dirtiest players in the NFL.