The Steelers and Bengals will square off in Cincinnati on Sunday afternoon and it doesn’t sound like the two teams will be exchanging holiday pleasantries in the field in between plays.
During the first 2015 meeting between the teams, a hit by Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict on Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell led to a season-ending knee injury for Bell. Burfict’s reaction to the play led to criticism from the Steelers, including a tweet from linebacker Vince Williams suggesting that there would be an altercation if the two were to cross paths off the field.
Steelers guard David DeCastro stopped short of calling the Bengals a dirty team Monday, saying that they’re “not out to hurt people,” but that distinction doesn’t mean that he has any warm feelings for a divisional rival.
“We don’t like them. They don’t like us,” DeCastro said, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “I’m not going to sit here and give you bulletin board material, but that’s as simple as it can be.”
There shouldn’t be much need for bulletin board material to get the blood flowing on either side given how much both teams have to play for at this point in the season. Some old-fashioned hostile feelings should add to those stakes to make for one of the more appealing games on this week’s slate.