Vontaze Burfict could face suspension after dumb penalty costs Bengals

We all knew it was coming. Vontaze Burfict was out of control for most of the second half of Saturday’s AFC wild-card game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers, and in the end he lost his mind at the most critical moment.

Pittsburgh was having a hard time moving into field goal range, and Ben Roethlisberger had just missed Antonio Brown with 22 seconds left on the clock. But then Burfict drew a stupid penalty when he blew up Brown after he missed the catch.

You can watch a clip of the play here.

It was a brutal, intentional head-hunting job by the linebacker, who will certainly be fined for his actions. He also could be facing a suspension, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Making matters worse, Adam Jones also drew a 15-yard penalty, giving Pittsburgh an easy, chip-shot field goal to win the game. Chris Boswell drilled the 35-yarder, giving the Steelers an 18-16 win and sending them into the next round of the playoffs.

Meanwhile, the Bengals still haven’t won a playoff game since 1991, thanks to an unbelievably brutal hit by one of the dirtiest players in the NFL.

More from Sportsnaut: