Bengals cornerback Adam Jones was at the epicenter of controversy on Saturday night in Cincinnati, and he has a different perspective on how a raucous fourth quarter went down than most.
Speaking on The Dan Patrick Show on Monday morning, Jones defended Vontaze Burfict's fourth-quarter hit on Antonio Brown, which eventually triggered a three-game suspension for Burfict. The hit, which left Brown concussed, drew a 15-yard penalty on Burfict that helped put the Steelers in range for the winning field goal. Jones was also penalized on that play 15 yards for making contact with an official. Steelers assistant coach Joey Porter was on the field at the moment and allegedly incited Jones.
"Nah, Antonio Brown was not hurt," Jones said. "I know he was faking it. Go back and look at the play. If you go back in slow motion, you tell me Vontaze hit him in the head, or if his shoulder pads barely touched him."
Jones also said that Brown, who currently is in the league's concussion protocol, winked at Jones and the Bengals as he left the field.
When asked to clarify that he was accusing Brown of faking an injury, he added: "I think he needs a GRAMMY award for that one."
Jones, who came out strongly in support of head coach Marvin Lewis and his handling of players, said that the game was not officiated fairly.
"The point is, everybody want to talk about Vontaze and the way he plays," Jones said. "But if you go back and watch the film, watch the film of the whole game. It's not just like when we play against them, it's every time they play against somebody. If you go back and watch the whole game in slow-motion, different part even when 73 (offensive lineman Ramon Foster) after the play kicks him in his heel -- I mean blatantly, he's just walking back to the huddle, he kicks him -- they threw that one. If you go just go back and watch the whole game, you'll be surprised with the film."
One of the plays Brown noted in particular was Ryan Shazier's hit on Bengals running back Giovani Bernard that knocked him out of the game, which Jones said was worse than Burfict's hit on Brown.
