The last time the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals met there were tons of skirmishes that resulted in several players being fined. On Saturday, the two teams will meet again in an AFC Wild Card game and on Tuesday, head coach Mike Tomlin was asked if he’s worried about things getting out of hand this time around.
“I’m not at all,” said Tomlin.
Tomlin was asked why he’s so sure about that being as it’s obvious both teams have issues with one another.
“I know our group,” said Tomlin. “We’re singularly focused on the opportunity that is the playoffs and it’s about winning games and that’s where our focus will be.”
Tomlin was later asked if the rivalry against the Baltimore Ravens evolved in the same way that its currently trending with the Bengals.
“I’m not here to build a rivalry or make promos in regards to that,” said Tomlin. “We’re just going to prepare and show up and play and we understand there’s a lot at stake we understand it’s important to us, it’s important to them. There’s usually a lot of excitement in combat associated with that, but you’ve got two professional football teams, men of integrity, guys who want to do honor to themselves in the game and the organizations that they represent. We’re not going to talk about it all in a formal way as we prepare. I’ll proceed with the assumption that our guys understand what we’re looking for in that regard.”
It certainly will be interesting to see how the rest of this week plays out when it comes to any war of words ahead of Saturday’s game. With so much at stake in this time around, the last thing the Steelers need is for there to be any stupid post-whistle activity that results in penalties.
So, are we set for a clean game this time around? I highly doubt it and especially since Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict will be on the field Saturday. Hopefully the Steelers retaliate to any indiscretions by Bengals players with scores and not with punches.
