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Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback has suffered multiple injuries this season. He sprained his MCL against the Rams that caused him to miss the Ravens' week four game. He suffered a foot sprain against the Raiders that caused him to miss part of the Steelers' week 10 game against the Browns. He suffered a concussion against the Seahawks that took him off the field during the Steelers' final drive. And if you believe Ben Roethlisberger, Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict was trying to give him another one during last Sunday's game.
Here is the video:
How could this hit by Vontaze Burfict not be a penalty. Watch this cheap shot as he targets Ben's ankle pic.twitter.com/O4ZcT1FC5m
— Charlie Batch (@CharlieBatch16) December 13, 2015
Burfict dove towards Roethlisberger's ankle after the ball was released, something against NFL rules and it should have resulted in a 15-yard penalty. Regardless of the non-flag, Burfict should feel his wallet get lighter sometime this week. The hit wasn't the only thing that Burfict got into on Sunday, as Burfict was at the center of the fight between Steelers and Bengals players before the start of the game.
Steelers-Bengals is already lit: https://t.co/opOx1MLc44 https://t.co/rzGj5cs93J
— SB Nation (@SBNation) December 13, 2015
FOX Rules Analyst and former NFL Vice President of Officiating Mike Pereira agrees that the hit was low and the Burfict should have been penalized.
On the #Burfict low hit ... It looks like it was a low hit, he lunges into #Roethlisberger It should have been called #PITvsCIN
— Mike Pereira (@MikePereira) December 13, 2015
This isn't the first time Burfict has been accused of dirty play. Burfict was accused of twisting the ankles of Greg Olsen and Cam Newton during the Bengals Week Six match-up with the Panthers in 2014. Burfict was fined $25,000 by the league. There is also the low hit on Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco that didn't go quite as planned for Burfict, ending in a concussion that would see him out of the game.
Hopefully the Ravens won't have to deal with Burfict's antics during the season finale as all the dirty play through the years should see him suspended.