CINCINNATI -- Now that their seasons are over, the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers go into this offseason wondering what they could do differently to have better finishes in 2016.
Both teams earned playoff berths, but the Steelers had the better postseason, beating the Bengals in the wild-card round before losing in the divisional at Denver. Neither team accomplished its goal of winning the Super Bowl.
Their meetings this season were tense, highly-charged and injury-filled. In all, 59 flags were thrown in the three games, resulting in 515 yards of penalties.
All three games were ugly. So, given the shenanigans from 2015, what will the 94th installment of the Bengals-Steelers rivalry look like?
Will John Parry be there? When the Bengals and Steelers meet again, will Parry be on the field, too? The head official who reffed the Dec. 13 rivalry game was also assigned to the playoff matchup a month later. Since Parry knew how tense that December contest was -- it included a pregame scuffle and drew a combined $140,000 in fines to players after it was over -- he would understand the balance between allowing aggressive play while also keeping a level of peace, right? Nearly $84,000 in fines to coaches and players and a three-game suspension for linebacker Vontaze Burfict later, it would seem Parry's crew didn't keep the peace as well as the league might have hoped. Still, will Parry be back for the third Bengals-Steelers game since he became a head official in 2007? We shall see.
Will the extracurricular activity continue? The ugliness after the whistle from both sides in the 2015 meetings stems in part from a pair of hard hits at Heinz Field during the 2013 (Pittsburgh linebacker Terence Garvin's blindside hit on Bengals punter Kevin Huber) and 2014 (Bengals safety Reggie Nelson's tackle to Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell's knee) seasons. Tensions rose after both tackles. Social media also got players riled up. After the Bengals' Nov. 1 win at Heinz Field this past season, tweets directed at Burfict had him angered to the point of him using the December pregame scuffle as a form of retaliation. The Bengals as an organization were so enraged by the messages sent about Burfict that their security team asked the NFL to look into them. Coach Marvin Lewis said last week he was surprised the league "turn[ed] their head to it." No action was taken against those who sent the tweets.
Will Burfict play differently? The linebacker might have no choice but to alter his nearly reckless style after drawing heavy fines and a three-game suspension that will cause him to miss the start of next season. He likes daring officials to flag him, and he likes playing the role of villain to opposing teams. Since it has proven to be a costly technique, he might have to tone it down a tad. If he does, what will that mean for the next Bengals-Steelers matchup? After all, you can be sure that whether Parry is there or not, officials will be more closely watching his every move.
