Steelers kicker Chris Boswell believes the Bengals attempted to injure him before he could kick the game-winning field goal on Monday night.
When Pittsburgh initially lined up for the field goal, Cincinnati’s Josh Shaw jumped offside so far he was practically in front of the ball when Boswell kicked, and on Boswell’s follow-through his foot hit Shaw. Boswell said that hurt.
“You’re not jumping offsides that bad without trying to run into the kicker,” Boswell said.
Steelers holder Jordan Berry was also suspicious.
“Especially in a game like that,” said Berry, “your [thought] is, ‘Maybe [Shaw] is trying to do something crazy.’He was moving before I even turned around early — so he was definitely trying to jump something. Whether or not he was trying to hit anyone . . .”
It was a game full of personal fouls and injuries, with Pittsburgh’s JuJu Smith-Schuster and George Iloka both suspended for illegal hits, although Iloka’s suspension was overturned on appeal. The league will decide whether to fine Shaw for running into Boswell, or to accept that it was just an ordinary case of a player jumping offside.