Many fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers relished in watching their divisional rival, the Cincinnati Bengals, lose in the AFC Championship Game to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. However, the way that the game ended is a little too similar for comfort for many Steelers fans. While the incident was much less violent and problematic in the Chiefs game, the Steelers defeated the Bengals in a playoff game with the same ending as the 2022-23 AFC Championship Game.
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For reference, in the Chiefs/Bengals game, Joseph Ossai of the Bengals was trying to get Patrick Mahomes out of bounds and stop the Chiefs short of field goal range. In the process, he pushed Mahomes right after he got out of bounds, and a flag was thrown. The 15-yard penalty on Ossai moved the Chiefs into field goal range, where Harrison Butker scored the game-winning field goal with three seconds left on the clock, eliminating the Bengals from playoff contention.
How is that incident like the Bengals vs Steelers one?
Many Steelers fans remember the last time a penalty cost the Bengals a playoff game, although this particular one was much more sinister than the one in Kansas City. After an injured Ben Roethlisberger overthrew star receiver, Antonio Brown, Bengals linebacker, Vontaze Burfict knocked Brown out with a vicious and intentional hit to the head. With 18 seconds, that penalty pushed the Steelers into field goal range, although a 50-yarder would still be somewhat challenging for the new kicker for the Steelers, Chris Boswell.
Unlike in the Chiefs game, there was another incident on the same play that pushed the Steelers even closer to field goal range. Adam Jones got upset at Joey Porter for being on the field and being smug about the situation, knowing that the Steelers now had a good chance to win. Jones bumped an official, wanting a flag on Porter. Instead, Jones got an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, making it a much shorter kick for Boswell. He made it and the Steelers won, advancing them to the divisional round.
SI.com
Bengals cornerback Pac-Man Jones argues after being called for a 15-yard penalty to put the Steelers in field goal range to win
The result of the players that got hit will be completely different. Antonio Brown missed the next game with a concussion, in which the Steelers lost to the top-seeded Denver Broncos by 7 points. The Chiefs will now have a bye week before facing the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl. Mahomes had an injured ankle going into the game against the Bengals, but the extra week will help him heal up so he can finally play at full strength and play like everyone expects him to.
This was the scene at Joseph Ossai’s locker with BJ Hill stepping in to provide support https://t.co/8vn1OOlhOQ pic.twitter.com/nbUnoCkzfp
— Michael Niziolek (@michaelniziolek) January 30, 2023
In both instances, the Bengals players stuck up for their scrutinized linebacker. BJ Hill and some other Bengals players defended him in the press conference, which makes sense. It's arguable whether Ossai could've stopped himself before pushing Mahomes or not. Either way, Hill didn't want to hear it from the media, saying he didn't want "dumb questions" about the situation as the media tried to interview Ossai.
On the other end, Adam Jones defended Burfict for all the wrong reasons. He claimed that Burfict barely touched Brown and that he faked getting hit like soccer players do. He went on multiple social media rants about Brown and Joey Porter, blaming them for the loss and causing the Bengals to get 30 yards worth of penalties in one play. Jones eventually did take back his statements on Brown after he was confirmed to be out for the Broncos game, but it doesn't change the fact that him and Burfict killed any chance for the Bengals to upset the Steelers.
What do you think of the similarity between the Bengals losing to the Chiefs in 2023 and the Steelers in 2016? Let us know what you think in the comments.
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