Did Bud Dupree shove Joe Burrow into the Bengals bench? (Video)

Joe Burrow went crashing into the Bengals bench but should we blame gravity or Bud Dupree?

What’s a Bengals-Steelers rivalry game without a potentially dirty hit that we’ll be debating all week?

Joe Burrow received his Welcome to the Rivalry moment in the second half of Sunday’s meeting with the Steelers. As Burrow scrambled to the sideline on a broken play, he tumbled and went crashing into the bench. The question immediately became whether or not Steelers linebacker Bud Dupree was to blame for the carnage.

Was it a dirty hit late in the play or was it simply Burrow’s momentum that sent him careening?

A closer look at the play shows Dupree definitely hitting Burrow late near the sideline which no doubt helped further whatever momentum a 6-foot-4, 221 pound fully grown man built up during his scramble to the sideline. But even that is open to interpretation on multiple levels — was it a hit or was it a hand on Burrow’s back? And within that, are you a Steelers or Bengals fan looking for whatever evidence you’re seeking to absolve or convict?

Making matters worse was seeing Burrow limp back to the Bengals huddle after the hit (or incident, whatever we’re calling it). That’s the only real takeaway from this that could draw universal agreement, as Burrow being healthy is the best thing for the NFL right now.

It wasn’t aggressive enough to warrant total blame being place on Dupree, but this is a classic case of seeing what you want to. Steelers fans will see Dupree’s hand on Burrow’s back but not a shove, where Bengals fans will see Dupree unnecessarily making contact after the play was over.

Officials didn’t see anything worthy of a flag, so take that for what it’s worth in drawing a conclusion on what happened here, but know that there won’t be an answer that satisfies all parties involved.