Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict doesn’t think he’s to blame for the team’s devastating playoff loss. In fact, he’s directly blaming one of his teammates.
Burfict was widely blamed for Cincinnati’s loss, as he took a costly penalty for his dirty hit on Antonio Brown. It essentially put Pittsburgh into field goal range with 22 seconds left, allowing them to kick to win the game.
Does Burfict blame himself for that defeat?
“No, I don’t,” Burfict said in an interview with ESPN’s Josina Anderson.
Burfict doubled down, implying that one of his teammates should shoulder that blame.
Vontaze Burfict just managed to throw a teammate under the bus in his "stop-picking-on-me" interview on ESPN pic.twitter.com/NSyiT4y6ro
— Guy Haberman (@GuyHaberman) March 2, 2016
“There was only a minute left in the game,” Burfict said. “Coach always says, ‘Trust a teammate to pack your parachute,’ and I trusted my teammate. I don’t want to say any names, but I trusted my teammates to execute and finish the game.”
We’ll name names for you – Burfict is likely singling out running back Jeremy Hill, who fumbled the ball away in Pittsburgh territory with less than a minute and a half left after a Burfict interception appeared to seal the game for Cincinnati.
Burfict wasn’t solely at fault, but he certainly played a role in Cincinnati’s collapse. It’s one thing to not take responsibility, it’s another to throw a teammate under the bus – even if he didn’t name names. It’s not new, though. Burfict has blamed others for his play before.
H/T Eye on Football
