The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 27-17 last night to win the AFC North. There were plenty of fireworks within the game’s 60 sanctioned minutes but the most explosive action came after the final whistle. “”
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin and Bengals safety Reggie Nelson got into a shouting match instead of shaking hands and had to be separated. Earlier Nelson had sent Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell to the locker room with a leg injury thanks to a low, yet perfectly legal, tackle.
Tomlin insisted the exchange had nothing to do with the play.
“I guess a teammate told him I said something regarding him,” Tomlin said, via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “That’s untrue. Ask him. I have a lot of respect for Reggie Nelson. He’s a good player.”
Nelson also used the “ask the other guy” mode of media deflection.
“That’s between me and the next man,” Nelson said. “If he wants to elaborate on it, he can. My (phone line is) open. James Harrison‘s got my line. If that’s what y’all want to talk about, I ain’t gonna talk about it.”
Perhaps the two were just discussing who owes who for the league-wide Secret Santa. Or the Hugh Hefner death rumor. Guess we’ll never know.