Just the final two minutes of the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cincinnati Bengals 2015 Wild Card game had everything. Big plays, lead changes, shocking turnovers, big hits, players returning triumphantly from injury, and a game-winning field goal.
Advertisement
The only black mark was the two massive penalties that heavily influenced that game-winner. The first was a wildly reckless hit to the head by Vontaze Burfict on Antonio Brown that left the receiver unconscious. This happened with the Bengals up 16–15 and under 30 seconds remaining. That led to a scuffle, and that’s when Joey Porter stepped into the fray.
Porter was a Steelers legend as a player and was now the linebackers coach. He still had that competitive fire in him though, but when he came out to confront Bengals players, he now says he made “the cardinal mistake” of trying to compliment the enemy.
“I made the cardinal mistake: I tried to compliment a Bengal. I tell Burfict, I said, ‘Man, I’m not even supposed to say this, but I like your game.’ He’s got some jankiness in him that I’ve seen in myself when I played,” Porter recalled.
“He just ain’t got no control, because his big homie is Pacman. He’s doomed by default. He returned that compliment with like, ‘I don’t give a f*ck about how you feel about my game, f*ck you and f*ck Pittsburgh. I’m like damn, alright,” Porter continued, laughing.
Burfict’s foul had already moved the Steelers into kicker Chris Boswell’s range, from the 47 up to the 32. A field goal from there would have been about 49 yards. Boswell is a great clutch kicker, but the weather conditions were pretty brutal, so there’s no telling if he would have made it. But then, other Bengals came over to intimidate Porter.
“I look up, it’s Bengal, Bengal, Bengal [surrounding me]. Pacman come running from way over yonder. Don’t even know what’s going on. He pushed me. Burfict bumped me. Newberry bumped me. I backboard off Burfict, so they ping-ponging me around”
To give some context, the Bengals had just made a furious comeback after being down 15-0. They went up 16-15 with under two minutes left. Ben Roethlisberger was out with an injury, so his backup, Landry Jones, stepped in and… threw an interception to Burfict at his own 26-yard line. Game over, right? Wrong.
Steelers LB Ryan Shazier ripped the ball out of Bengals RB Jeremy Hill’s hands on the very next play. Fumble. Recovered by Pittsburgh. And who’s that shedding his jacket on the sideline? It’s Ben Roethlisberger. He’s coming back onto the field. He’s Pittsburgh tough. He promptly leads the Steelers from their own nine-yard line into Bengals territory. That’s when the flags started flying.
Porter’s decision to come out onto the field to talk to Burfict after the hit turned out to be a deciding factor. All the pushing and shoving he received from those Bengals players in that moment ended up resulting in another 15-yard penalty for Pacman Jones. That pushed the Steelers up to the Bengals’ 17-yard line and created a 34-yard chip shot for Boswell. He made it to give the Steelers the 18-16 win.
A whole litany of fines was handed out after the game, and Burfict received a three-game suspension for his hit on Brown, who was arguably never the same mentally after that play.
The NFL, meanwhile, implemented a new rule stating that no coaches except the head coach would be allowed on the field of play to check on an injured player, directly related to the Porter incident. Not only was it a game for the ages, but one with a long-lasting impact as well.
