Vontaze Burfict was once again accused of throwing cheap shots during Sunday’s game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers, and Ben Roethlisberger says his antics on the field went beyond what is typical for a competitive, physical football game.
Burfict was fortunate to avoid a flag for a hit to the head and neck area of Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown, who briefly left the field with an injury. Immediately after that play, Roethlisberger says Burfict threatened Pittsburgh receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster by pointing to him and saying “you’re next.”
“He hits A.B., then, literally, as I am under center for the next play, he points at JuJu and says, ‘You’re next,’” Roethlisberger said Monday, per Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “How do you allow that stuff?”
Video of the play Roethlisberger was referring to shows Burfict pointing in Smith-Schuster’s direction before the ball was snapped.
This is the play Ben Roethlisberger claims Vontaze Burfict yelled “You’re next!” at Juju Smith-Schuster. You can see Burfict point at Smith-Schuster twice here. pic.twitter.com/WVLXCwtlPw
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) October 16, 2018
Burfict is not expected to be suspended for his hit on Brown, but the NFL is looking at that play and several others from Sunday’s game to potentially fine the linebacker. There is a long history of bad blood between Burfict and the Steelers, and you may recall when Smith-Schuster destroyed Burfict with a blindside block during a game last season.
