In the heated rivalry between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals, there’s been quite a few major moments that stand out, but in recent history there’s none bigger than the 2015 AFC Wild Card matchup in Cincinnati between the AFC North foes.
That led to one of the more iconic moments in the rivalry, one that helped lead the Steelers to a win as the Bengals melted down in epic fashion. At the center of it? Former Steelers outside linebackers coach Joey Porter Sr.
Well after his playing days had ended, Porter — who was one of the best trash talkers in the league and one who played with a significant edge — was on the field following Antonio Brown’s injury on a dangerous hit by Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict.
Porter tried to pay Burfict a compliment after the hit. Instead, it sparked a melee that resulted in a personal foul penalty on Cincinnati’s Pacman Jones, which turned the Bengals slowly starting to give the game away into a full-on meltdown.
Appearing on the Not Just Football with Cam Heyward podcast that published Tuesday morning, Porter recalled what he said to Burfict, and how the incident played out, resulting in the personal foul that ultimately led to the Steelers kicking the game-winning field goal to advance in the playoffs.
“I made the cardinal mistake. I tried to compliment a Bengal. And referee with the white hat had the boom mic. That’s the reason why we never get in trouble, ’cause the boom mic picked up everything,” Porter said of the incident with the Bengals in that 2015 playoff game, according to video via the show’s YouTube page. “Yeah, they had everything. So when they tried to make the lies and all that, the referee had the boom mic. So everybody in New York heard exactly what happened and they know I wasn’t bullshitting.
“I told Burfict, I say ‘Man, I’m not even supposed to say this, but I like your game.’ I actually like his game. He got some jankiness in him that I see in myself when he play. He’s ruthless, he plays like that.”
Porter’s compliment wasn’t well-received by Burfict.
What’s forgotten is that longtime Steelers trainer John Norwig might have sparked things initially when he knocked Burfict’s hand off Brown’s shoulder, clearing the way for Brown and the medical staff to get off the field.
That’s when Porter stepped in and made the complimentary comments to Burfict. But the Bengals’ brash linebacker wasn’t having any of it, according to Porter. That in turn caused Bengals defensive end Wallace Gilberry to come in from behind Porter, bumping him into a crowd of Bengals, which ultimately caused Pacman Jones to come flying in out of nowhere and throw a punch, leading to the penalty that ignited the Bengals’ meltdown.
“I tell him, ‘Man I like your game.’ I give him his compliments. He returned that compliment with like, ‘I don’t give a fuck how you feel about my game. F you and F Pittsburgh,'” Porter said of Burfict’s reaction. “Alright, so my bad for throwing you the compliment. You threw that right back at my face and you didn’t want my compliment. So he is like, ‘F you and F Pittsburgh.’ Cool, solid. Then Newberry [Wallace Gilberry] runs over there. He runs over there bumps me into Burfict. Now I’m really smirking because I look up it’s Bengal, Bengal, Bengal. Y’all ain’t about to do shit. That’s the funny part. I’m just smirking now. I can’t mess up our leverage.
“Pacman come running from way over yonder. Don’t even know what’s going on. He pushed me, Burfict bumped me. [Gilberry] bumped me…So they ping ponging me around. I’m laughing, but I’m in the safest place ever because ain’t none of them really rough. Ain’t none of them like that.”
Ultimately the Bengals did do something: they shot themselves in the foot twice in one blink of an eye. Burfict was hit with a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty for the hit on Brown, and Jones was hit with a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, turning a 1st and 10 at the Cincinnati 47-yard line into a 1st and 10 at the Cincinnati 17 with 18 seconds left in the game.
That set up Chris Boswell’s 35-yard field goal, giving the Steelers an 18-16 lead that would ultimately be the final score in the wild, intense Wild Card matchup that featured a number of injuries and some on-field skirmishes.
In the end, Porter says the Bengals did what they always do: give a game away.
“I’m laughing because that’s Cincinnati being Cincinnati. You know what I’m saying? They had won the game and gave it back,” Porter said. “Think about what they did that game. They put out everybody that was important. They hurt everybody that they was supposed to hurt.
“Burfict being Burfict. You don’t have to take that shot. Everybody knew you didn’t have to take that shot at all [on Antonio Brown], but Burfict being Burfict, he wanted that shot. He took it and that landed us to them finally having a chance to beating us, till they gave it back. Another classic Bengals-Steeler game.”
It sure was a classic, and it led to some crazy moments after the game, too. Pacman Jones unleashed an epic rant on social media, believing Joey Porter was actually Jerry Porter, a receiver for the then-Oakland Raiders.
And it added another significant chapter in the Bengals-Steelers rivalry, one that played out a few years later when Steelers receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster decked Burfict with a great blindside block, and then stood over him, leading to the iconin photo.
But back in that 2015 playoff game, all Porter was trying to do was give a Bengal a compliment, something sacrilegious in his own book. Seems like Porter was playing 3-D chess that day and the Bengals were playing checkers, leading to the melee that led to flags thrown and Boswell’s game-winner.
Check out the full episode of Not Just Football with Cam Heyward and the Porter interview below.
