Steelers Now
Former Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker Bud Dupree recently reflected on the Steelers-Bengals intense rivalry in the mid-2010s. At the time, there wasn’t a more hate-filled rivalry in the NFL. Players on the Steelers simply couldn’t stand Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict, who was notorious for dirty antics.
“The Bengals and Steelers was like a gladiator school,” Dupree said on The Digital Social Era Podcast. “We played them, they had [Vontaze] Burfict, they had [Adam] Pacman Jones … Every game we played them boys for a two year stretch, it was two people going to sleep each game.” Vontaze Burfict
Burfict delivered a late shot to Antonio Brown in the 2015 Wild-Card game, resulting in a concussion for Brown. The Steelers ended up winning the game because of Burfict’s penalty and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Adam “Pacman” Jones for pushing Steelers outside linebackers coach Joey Porter Sr, setting up a 35-yard game-winner from kicker Chris Boswell.
While not proven, many believe Burfict’s hit gave Brown CTE.
All Antonio brown jokes aside but there’s a 99 % chance he got cte aftwe the burfict hit .. hasn’t acted anything like himself after the hit pic.twitter.com/l7n66ctDPm
— jw (@jwmedia12) January 2, 2022
“The Bengals and Steelers history was like a different type of rivalry,” Dupree said. “That felt like [a] high school rivalry. Like when you hate your next door neighbor. Every day I see them I just gotta get ’em.”
The Steelers ultimately got pay back on Burfict years later, when rookie wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster laid him out during game on Monday Night Football in 2017.
In honor of Vontaze Burfict getting suspended for season, let’s take a look back at Juju laying the HAMMER on him after a dirty hit on AB
— uSTADIUM Fantasy (@uSTADIUMFantasy) September 30, 2019
Former Cincinnati Bengals and West Virginia University cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones also has no love for Pittsburgh. To this day, he often talks about his detest for the Steel City.
“I don’t f*** with nothing in Pittsburgh,” Jone said in January on the podcast 2 Bears, 1 Cave. “I don’t even date girls from Pittsburgh when I was dating. You gotta realize, I’ve never had a reason to like Pittsburgh.”
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Bud Dupree Reflects on Steelers-Bengals Rivalry: ‘Was Like a Gladiator School’
