Ben Roethlisberger

Vontaze Burfict could face suspension after dumb penalty costs Bengals

Published Jan. 10, 2016 12:07 a.m. ET

foxsports

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 between 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.

You can watch a clip of the play here.

It was a brutal, intentional head-hunting job by the linebacker, who will certainly be fined for his actions. He also could be facing a suspension, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

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, giving the Steelers an 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.

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