Steelers-Bengals rivalry turning downright nasty
Hate is a strong word.
It might not be strong enough, however, to describe how Cincinnati Bengals players feel about the Pittsburgh Steelers and vice versa.
The AFC North rivals mixed it up on the field, before their game on Sunday in Cincinnati, sparked by the ill feeling, taunts and perceived threats that followed their first matchup this season in Pittsburgh on Nov. 1.
In that game, the Steelers were upset over what they saw as Cincinnati LB Vontaze Burfict’s perfectly dirty hit on RB Le’Veon Bell, which knocked him out for the season.
Bengals players interpreted Steelers LB Vince Williams’ postgame tweet — “I catch Vontez on south beach im painting that boi on sight” as a real threat.
Mutual painting took place before Sunday’s kickoff, perhaps egged on by Cincinnati CB Adam Jones’ pre-game Instagram taunt: “Shut the f--- up and play football.”
Hostilities continued during the game. Burfict cheap-shotted Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger with a low-targeted hit that officials somehow missed.
Afterward, Pittsburgh OT Marcus Gilbert tweeted, “All I want for Christmas is the Bengals. Would love to see them in the playoffs where they choke. The talking is done between the lines.”
Hooboy.
INSIDE FOOTBALL
Are there times when teams should not field punts? Absolutely.
Yet we routinely see punt returners struggle with the elements (bright sun, rain or wind) to catch the ball under duress.
A lost muffed punt is usually ruinous, and why wouldn’t it be? It’s a turnover with almost half a field’s worth of yardage tacked on.
That high school coach in Arkansas — Kevin Kelley of Pulaski Academy — who hardly ever punts and almost always onsidekicks, also never fields a punt. His reasoning? Because bad things are more likely to result than good when you attempt to return a punt. Indeed, the yardage you lose on the occasional long-roller is probably about equal to that which you lose on returns thanks to those maddening, often-called illegalblock-in-the-back penalties.
And it’s not often a returner in the U.S. game springs a big one anyway. So let the thing roll dead, and never worry about the cheap, field-flopping, momentum-swapping turnover. Pretty dang smart, actually. With each passing year, I find myself coming around to this guy Kelley’s way of thinking.
Look at the Buffalo Bills’ loss at Philadelphia on Sunday.
With the score tied 7-7 in the second quarter, Buffalo forced Philly to punt from its own 10-yard line. Great, right? The Bills were all set to get good field position, with momentum swinging more to their side after having tied the game up.
But then Bills punt returner Marcus Thigpen foolishly did not call for a fair catch on Donnie Jones’ high-sailing kick. Pressured by the time the ball finally came down, Thigpen muffed it.
The Eagles recovered at the Buffalo 37, effectively, a 53-yard gain. One play and two offensive holding penalties later, Sam Bradford hit rookie WR Nelson Agholor on a long-bomb touchdown pass.
Philly went up 14-7 and never trailed in a 23-20 victory.
HERO
Blake Bortles, QB, Jaguars:
Jacksonville’s second-year passer still has much to improve on, especially accuracy (58 per cent completion percentage this season) and ball security (30 interceptions in 27 career starts).
But with each passing month, Bortles is becoming more of a playmaking passer. He and WR Allen Robinson have connected for more TDs, 12, than any other QB/WR combo in 2015. On Sunday Bortles threw three TD passes (including one to Robinson) and ran for another score in Sunday’s 51-16 romp against Indianapolis.
That makes him only the fourth QB in NFL history to throw 30 in a season before his 24th birthday.
ZERO Kyle Shanahan, offensive coordinator, Falcons:
By the time Atlanta opened 5-0, Shanahan’s name was appearing on shortlists of hot head-coaching candidates for 2016. Now he’s just on the hot seat. The Falcons averaged 32.4 points and 406 total yards per game in that opening win streak. Since then, Shanahan’s eroding attack has generated just 14.6 points per game. In the past five miserable games, all losses, Shanahan’s offence has generated only 311 total yards per game.
Now Atlanta is 6-7. If scapegoat-needy owner Arthur Blank fires Shanahan, next year Shanny could be on his fourth team in four years.
STOCK UP
Patriots defence:
People still aren’t giving credit to this unit for New England’s 11-2 start. But the New England D is one of the NFL’s best, across the board. Ben Volin of the Boston Globe points out that in the Patriots’ 27-6 win Sunday night at Houston, the Texans gained two-thirds of their meagre 189 yardage total on just three big plays. The Pats thus allowed 63 yards on the other 49 Texans plays.
STOCK DOWN
Chicago’s homefield advantage:
It isn’t one anymore. Remember when teams feared playing at Soldier Field? If anything, it’s the host Bears that fear it now. They’re 1-5 at home this season, and 3-11 since losing to Buffalo to open last season. Shocking.