NFL Hands Down Punishment to Bengals Linebacker Vontaze Burfict After Ugly Wild-Card Playoff Game

Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict was suspended for the first three games of next season as the NFL began handing down punishments on Monday for an ugly wild-card playoff game.

Vontaze Burfict #55 of the Cincinnati Bengals reacts in the third quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the AFC Wild Card Playoff game at Paul Brown Stadium on January 9, 2016 in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The league also is reviewing the conduct of other players and coaches during Pittsburgh’s 18-16 victory at Paul Brown Stadium on Saturday night that turned on penalties against Burfict and Bengals cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones in the final minute.

Before the suspension was announced on Monday night, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said that Burfict didn’t “go over the edge” with his hit against Brown.

Steelers linebacker James Harrison, who spent one season in Cincinnati with his locker next to Burfict’s, said in Pittsburgh that Burfict is always pushing the line of what’s accepted.