|
 The National Football League has been striving to make the
inherently violent game safer for players, but the contest instead
showcased the reckless side of the sport.
Nine officials were stationed in a line across the entire Paul Brown
Stadium field prior to the playoff game, won by Pittsburgh 18-16, to
separate bitter AFC North rivals who had scuffled before the start
of their encounter last month.
Peace reigned Saturday until the kickoff, when bad blood between the
teams flowed with head-high hits, personal fouls and unsportsmanlike
conduct calls that even involved coaches from both sides.
The worst was saved for last, at least for fans of the hapless
Bengals, who squandered a 16-15 lead with two fouls on the same play
that immediately gifted the Steelers a game-clinching 35-yard field
goal with 14 seconds remaining.
Linebacker Vontaze Burfict, handed a fine of nearly $70,000 from the
last game against Pittsburgh, went from hero to goat when he hit
Antonio Brown in the head with his shoulder several steps after a
pass for Brown sailed incomplete over his head.
About a minute before, Burfict had made what appeared to be a
game-clinching interception.
As Brown lay on the ground, and officials were sorting out the
penalty and trainers evaluated Brown for a concussion, Bengals
cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones drew an unsportsmanlike conduct
penalty when he raged against Steelers assistant Joey Porter, who
had ventured onto the field among Bengals players.
In the first quarter, Pittsburgh offensive line coach Mike Munchak
was flagged after he grabbed the jersey and some dreadlocks of
safety Reggie Nelson who had shoved a Steelers player out of bounds.
[to top of second column] |
Players milled menacingly on the field after Steelers linebacker
Ryan Shazier laid out running back Giovani Bernard with a concussion
after a shot near the head, and stripped him of the ball for a
fumble recovery.
Cincinnati's meltdown extended a long run of playoff futility, with
their last playoff victory coming in 1991.
The team's fifth loss at the first hurdle in the last five years
gave coach Marvin Lewis an NFL record 0-7 mark in the playoffs.
“If Marvin Lewis can’t control his players, then maybe Marvin
shouldn’t be on the sidelines coaching,” former Bengals quarterback
and CBS analyst Boomer Esiason said after the game, according to Pro
Football Talk/NBC sports.
Paul Daugherty of the Cincinnati Enquirer wrote that it was the
worst playoff defeat of the Marvin Lewis Era.
"Too many players were out of control. That’s on the head coach,"
according to Daugherty. "Passion has its place in football. Reckless
stupidity does not."
(Reporting by Larry Fine in New York; Editing by Steve Keating.)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
