Vontaze Burfict is an extremely talented linebacker, but his reputation around the league is in tatters due to his repeated dirty hits and illegal plays. No team is better aware of his behavior than the Pittsburgh Steelers, who advanced in the playoffs last year thanks to Burfict’s scary shot to Antonio Brown’s head. In this encounter, when Burfict tried to cut lineman David DeCastro down at the legs, DeCastro was ready and gave a shot of his own.
DeCastro, in an impressive feat of reaction time and athleticism, managed to get just as low as Burfict and hit the linebacker right in the helmet. It’s in itself a dangerous play, and it wound up putting Burfict in the concussion protocol. In a vacuum, it could even be considered a dirty hit, but with what DeCastro knows of Vontaze, it’s probably not a huge surprise for dropping down to protect himself and getting some vengeance for Brown while he was at it.
It’s no joke when someone goes down due to a helmet-to-helmet hit, but then again, no one should know that better than Vontaze. He’s doled out enough of them over the years that there weren’t too many people around to wring their hands over his fate.
