It is believed Jim Nantz is still shaking in his blazer over the trash talk and violence that permeated Saturday night’s playoff brawl between the Bengals and Steelers.
The improbable wild-card-round victory by the Steelers, which swung on two late personal fouls by the Bengals, contained a sense-assaulting potpourri of concussion giving, shoulder separating, hair pulling and taunting that stole the weekend’s NFL headlines and left the CBS announcer in a veritable moral panic.
Somehow, though, there was even more dirty play than first met the eye, and the fighting words continued Monday — mostly from the Bengals on their way to the golf course.
The developments:
- Bengals cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones believes Antonio Brown, who is in the league’s concussion protocol after sustaining a helmet-to-helmet hit from Vontaze Burfict on the Steelers’ fateful final drive, is faking it. “I know he was faking,” Jones said on the Dan Patrick show. “I think he needs a Grammy Award for that one.”
- Footage emerged showing Burfict driving his knee into the shoulder of Ben Roethlisberger after sacking the Steelers quarterback in the second half. Roethlisberger is believed to have suffered a separated shoulder on the play.
- Steelers offensive lineman David DeCastro told Pittsburgh radio that Burfict spat on him during the game.
- Steelers assistant coach Joey Porter was raked over the verbal coals by the Bengals, after his on-field chatter following the Brown hit provoked Jones into an additional penalty. “He was just over there calling them b–ches,” Jones said. Bengals offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth said: “I respect the Steelers and Coach Tomlin, but Joey Porter I don’t respect. No class. … His unprofessionalism is ridiculous.”