Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict said Wednesday he has received a letter from the NFL saying two personal foul penalties against him at Buffalo shouldn't have been called.
Burfict was flagged three times in the first half of the Bengals' 27-24 win against the Bills on Oct. 13 at Ralph Wilson Stadium; twice for unnecessary roughness and once for grabbing an opponent's facemask. The league fined him $7,875 for the facemask penalty but apologized for the incorrect calls.
"That's going to happen in the NFL. There's bang-bang plays," said Burfict. "Sometimes the ref will probably see something that should be called or shouldn't be called. They sent a letter saying it shouldn't be called and let the refs know that it shouldn't be called next time."
The Bengals aren't asking Burfict to back off his aggressive playing style, but he does have to be smart about how and when to hit ball carriers.
"He's got a little edge to him but he's a smart guy, too," said defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer. "He just has to be smart and not do stupid things. He's a smart guy. He's a good football player and that's what he needs to do, just play football. Then everything is fine."
Burfict leads the NFL with 74 tackles, a total that is based off official gamebooks. The Bengals coaching staff credits Burfict with 93 tackles based off their game film reviews. The coaching staff credited him with 17 tackles last week against Detroit, four more than the official gamebook stats.
"I don't really look at the tackle stats," said Burfict. "For me to make tackles it's because of the other 10 players doing their job. Some of the leaders on this team, Reggie (Nelson) is always talking to me about my tackles. I'm like, 'It's not even about that. Did we win this week?' That's the question I ask him.
"The NFL will give me 10 tackles and my coach will see on the film, 'Man, you had 17 tackles.' How did they miss seven tackles? I can tell you this: There are other players they don't miss tackles, I can tell you that."
