The NFL came down hard on Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict Friday morning for his hit on Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and a pair of other dirty hits this past Sunday, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Bengals' LB Vontaze Burfict was fined just under $70,000 for three separate infractions Sunday vs Steelers. He is appealing.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 18, 2015
Burfict’s agent Audie Attar told ESPN Thursday that his client would not be facing any further discipline from the NFL. Burfict was not penalized for the hit on Roethlisberger that he has received the fine for.
It is not the first incident that Burfict has had since he joined the league in 2012. Burfict was fined $31,000 in Week 3 of the 2013 NFL season for two incidents against the Green Bay Packers. $21,000 of that fine came for a hit on a defenseless receiver, and $10,000 was added for hitting Packers tight end Ryan Taylor in the groin.
Last season, Burfict was fined $25,000 for twisting Cam Newton and Greg Olsen’s ankles.
Roethlisberger is surely happy with the fine, as he felt that Burfict, who alleges that he was pushed into his legs, did it intentionally.
“I don’t buy that he was pushed,” Roethlisberger said. “He definitely was diving in low and going for my legs. It’s tough. I am just glad I didn’t get hurt.”
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
As Schefter describes in other tweets, Burfict was fined for three plays from last Sunday’s game. Two of the three were unnecessary roughness penalties, and the third was the hit on Roethlisberger.
Burfict is appealing the fines in question, but based on his history, he will have a tough time winning those appeals as a repeat offender.
