Lewis: No suspension expected for Burfict

After a day where Vontaze Burfict thrust into the national news cycle following a low hit to the knees of New England's Martellus Bennett, Marvin Lewis wasted little time stating his opinion on the controversial play and status of his starting linebacker.

National reports stated Burfict could be fined or even suspended for the act, and the league was investigating the play. Lewis said the league wasn't specifically investigating the play, rather, they look at every play and not this one specifically.

He then said he holds "no concern" Burfict will be suspended or fined.

The play in question came in the fourth quarter as the Bengals' 35-17 loss to New England grew chippy. Tom Brady made a pump-fake pass toward Bennett, and Burfict then dove at the knees of the tight end, taking him out. Adam Jones was in the area as well but pulled up when he saw the ball wasn't coming his way. Bennett was hobbled after the play. Brady pulled the pump back and threw elsewhere to Chris Hogan.

"He goes on the pump fake," Lewis said. "We were coaching him to keep his head up in order to make a better football play and not react as hard as he can. He (Tom Brady) pump-faked a couple of times and ended up getting sacks, or he pump faked a couple of times and made plays for them, and that was one of them. From our coaching standpoint, we want to make sure as we come in to defend the ball, we are able to defend with the arms so you have the chance to get the ball loose and off of them.”

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Burfict popped up, and Bennett says the linebacker apologized for the hit. Still, the damage could already be done considering Burfict's situation. He served a three-game suspension at the beginning of this season for an accumulation of plays violating league-safety rules at the end of last season, culminating in his notorious hit to the head of Antonio Brown in the playoff loss. After the season, he met with commissioner Roger Goodell about his behavior.

His prior history opens up the possibility of the NFL opting to suspend him again, according to former head of NFL officials Mike Pereira and current rules analyst for Fox Sports.

By the numbers: Burfict suspension and NFL history

“If it's a large fine and not games they don’t have any guts," Pereira said on the Rich Eisen Show. "I mean, the guy was suspended for the first three games of the season. So you pile on, you pile on punishment when you look at history, and he has history dating all the way back to college for God’s sakes. Obviously it doesn’t apply in the NFL, but I don’t see how they can do anything but suspend him because it was not a football act. He didn’t lead with the helmet trying to break up a pass. He didn’t do that. This was just a dead, you know, cheap, intentional cheap shot. So to me, I’m like shocked if the NFL doesn’t maintain some leverage here and get rid of him for another couple of games."

Obviously, Lewis disagrees. Announcements on fines are traditionally released on Friday.

Another fine would add to a hefty number for Burfict. Counting money lost from his three-game suspension, he's given up $730K over the course of his career. Entering this season, he'd been fined seven times in 50 games.

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GOAL-LINE STAND REACTION: To Lewis, the series of four plays beginning at the New England 6-yard line that didn’t result in immediate points was more concerning in principle than on the scoreboard. No, the Bengals did not score a touchdown on that series, including three shots from the 1-yard line. But, the flip in field position did lead to a touchdown and a Bengals lead.

“We have to put the ball in from the one-yard line, no question about it,” Lewis said. “But the game didn’t hinge on that particular play.”

As for the trio of plays at the 1-yard line, which included two plays that featured defensive tackle Domata Peko as a lead blocker and running back Giovani Bernard, offensive coordinator Ken Zampese said, “We wanted to have (Peko’s) physicality and his body type out there for the blocking we were doing.

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“As things happened, we didn't end up blocking the guys long enough, well enough, for us to get into the end zone.”

Bernard had started for the second straight game as Jeremy Hill’s usage has been managed due to a lingering shoulder issue, and Zampese felt at that moment, Bernard was in the flow of the game and the offense was moving effectively with him in the backfield.

Hill has typically been the team’s “goal-line” back and has scored 17 of his career 23 touchdowns from five yards in or closer, including two this season.

“That's just how it ended up in that situation at that time,” Zampese said.

But as the offensive coordinator, he wanted to see a touchdown in that situation regardless of the fact that his group eventually did find paydirt on its next possession.

“It was a huge part of the game. Absolutely huge,” Zampese said. “That score that we would get right there would certainly boost some momentum and put us up in a significant way.”