Ryan Shazier laid a huge hit on Giovani Bernard during the third quarter of the Steelers’ playoff game Saturday, causing the Bengals running back to fumble.
Bernard caught a pass from AJ McCarron and turned up field where he was met by Shazier, who drilled him:
Giovani Bernard caught some serious chin music on this hit. Absolutely. Brutal. pic.twitter.com/f76n8jSn3l
— HuffPost Sports (@HuffPostSports) January 10, 2016
heads are definitely supposed to do this pic.twitter.com/yBxMaGMRWy
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) January 10, 2016
Bernard fumbled and crumbled after the hit. The officials blew the whistle to stop the play, negating a Steelers touchdown on a run back.
The hit was controversial because Shazier hit Bernard high, but it was ruled legal. The reasoning was that Bernard had turned up field and was no longer considered a defenseless receiver.
The hit led to a skirmish breaking out between both sides. Vontaze Burfict, who notoriously hates the Steelers, got involved and was said to be going nuts on the sidelines.
