Six fans were arrested. After Steeler quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was injured after a hit from Burfict, he was carted off the field and hit with a beer bottle from the stands. Running back Gio Bernard was knocked unconcious by Steeler linebacker Ryan Shazier, who along with a group of teammates, went to the sideline and openly mocked the injured Bernard by twitching and rolling their eyes into the backs of their heads. One Steeler assistant Mike Munchak grabbed a Bengal by the hair on the sideline, another, former player Joey Porter, went midfield and began taunting and confronting Bengals in their huddle. Porter's taunting led to Jones bumping a ref, after Burfict needlesly blasted a Pittsburgh receiver in the head on a pass he couldn't catch - both drew the game-losing penalties.
After what amounted to a prime time disaster for the NFL and two of its teams, Graham and Dayton Daily News columnist Tom Archdeacon found a bit of good amidst all the bad sportsmanship.
Archdeacon wrote: "It's a shame Burfict and Jones end up the face of the team on this night. Their back-alley tactics eclipsed the glorious efforts of young quarterback AJ McCarron, receiver A.J. Green, who caught the go-ahead 25-yard TD toss with 1:50 left, and Pro Bowl tackle Andrew Whitworth.
And here's another indelible late-game image, one that's a flip side to the thuggery and selfishness displayed by Burfict and Pacman.
When the game ended Whitworth was one of just four Bengals – the others were kicker Mike Nugent, receiver Marvin Jones and halfback Rex Burkhead – who sought out Steelers players on the field to congratulate them.
Then the massive Whitworth lowered his 330 pounds onto his knees near the 50-yard line to say a postgame prayer. He soon was joined by Burkhead, fellow Bengals Cedric Peerman and Vinny Rey and Steelers cornerback Ross Cockrell.
As he stood at his locker later, Whitworth was asked why he had bothered to shake hands when so many teammates had headed straight to the dressing room.
"I shook hands with them because at the end of the day integrity and character and who you are as a man is more important than who you are as a football player," he said. "And in the face of a loss you have to man up and walk out there."
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