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CINCINNATI -- Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict was suspended three games by the NFL for his hit on Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown during Cincinnati's AFC wild-card game on Saturday, the league announced Monday. It is the first career suspension for Burfict, who is no stranger to league discipline.
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Burfict was fined nearly $70,000 for three separate incidents when the Steelers and Bengals met in December, accounting for about half of the nearly $140,000 in fines levied to players on both teams. He also was fined $50,000 for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Baltimore tight end Maxx Williams on Jan. 3.
In 2014, he was fined $25,000 for twisting the ankles of Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton.
According to the NFL's statement, Burfict was suspended for being a repeat offender of "violations of safety-related playing rules." Multiple reports state Burfict plans to appeal the suspension.
Burfict accused the officials of targeting him after he received an unnecessary-roughness penalty during a loss at Denver on Dec. 28.
When asked by a reporter following Saturday's loss if he believed the refs targeted him, Burfict said, "I don't know. What do you think?"
The hit on Brown proved to be Burfict's most costly infraction for the Bengals, who appeared to have their first postseason win in 25 years wrapped up when he made a diving interception at the Steelers' 27-yard line with 1:43 left and Cincinnati leading 16-15.
However, a fumble by Bengals running back Jeremy Hill gave new life to Pittsburgh, which drove into Cincinnati territory.
With 22 seconds left, Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger overthrew Brown, but Burfict unnecessarily lowered his shoulder toward Brown's head, resulting in a 15-yard penalty.
"He can't have that kind of blow with the guy receiving the pass," Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis told reporters Monday. "(The call) was part of what football is now. You have to learn to play within the scope of what football is right now. When receiving the football, those guys are being protected."
It got worse for the Bengals when, while Brown was being attended to on the field, cornerback Adam Jones became engaged with Steelers assistant coach Joey Porter and received another 15-yard flag, moving the ball to the 17 setting up Chris Boswell's 35-yard field goal that allowed Pittsburgh to win it with 18 seconds left.
Jones said on Dan Patrick's national radio show on Monday that Porter shouldn't have been on the field.
"Why is he on the field? There's no reason for him to be on the field," Jones said. "He was saying all disrespectful things. ... Why should he be on the field talking trash? I was flagged because they said I made contact with the ref."
Jones also accused Brown of faking his injury, saying Brown winked while being helped off the field.
"I think he needs an (Academy) Award for that," Jones said.
"This won't get behind me for a long time, unfortunately," said Lewis, who fell to 0-7 in the playoffs during his tenure as Bengals head coach. "I don't think a loss in the playoffs ever does. I feel for our fans. It rained all night on them. I feel sick for them."
While Burfict may sicken the Bengals at times with his lack of discipline, there is no denying his talent.
He ranked fourth on the team with 74 tackles along with one sack while appearing in only 10 games coming off a knee injury he sustained last season. He had 171 tackles in 2013 and made the Pro Bowl.
Burfict, who was not drafted coming out of Arizona State due to character concerns, has two years remaining on a three-year contraction extension he signed in August 2014.
The NFL also is looking into the actions of others during Saturday's game for potential discipline, including Porter, Steelers offensive line coach Mike Munchak, who appeared to grab Bengals free safety Reggie Nelson's dreadlocks on the sideline, and possibly Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier, who knocked running back Gio Bernard from game with a helmet-to-helmet hit that was deemed legal on the field.
"My message has been to (the players) that they're privileged to have the opportunity to play in the National Football League," Lewis said. "We will continue to work at playing hard and winning with class in everything we do. Obviously, we had to reinforce that again at an inopportune moment for us."
