NFL tells officials to have ‘heightened awareness’ for Steelers-Bengals game

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals will square off on Sunday in what has become one of the most physical rivalries in sports over the past few years, and the officiating crew working the game will be taking extra care to keep things under control.

NFL senior vice president of officiating Dean Blandino told ESPN’s Adam Caplan on Thursday that the league has instructed the officials to have “heightened awareness” for the game after what happened in the playoffs last season.

“Before every game we provide the crew with a scouting report [along with video clips] for the two teams. If there is a history between two teams, or players, that could lead to issues like we had last year then we include it in the report,” Blandino said. “The issues that came up last year will be covered with the crew for this game. All crews are directed to set the tone early in games so the players understand where the line is, and that should be consistent for all games, but just based on the history there will be a heightened awareness for this one.”

The ruthless hits in last year’s AFC Wild Card game between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati resulted in more than $80,000 in fines. One of the illegal plays — a brutal head shot from Vontaze Burfict on Antonio Brown (video here) — helped the Steelers get into field goal range and cost the Bengals their first playoff win since 1990.

While the stakes are much lower this time and Ben Roethlisberger has already downplayed the bad blood between the two teams, you can expect flags to come out early and often if questionable hits starting being thrown.