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Come Fan with UsMonday, June 22, 2026

Ben Roethlisberger’s wife is ‘praying for’ Vontaze Burfict

The Bengals linebacker has a contentious history against the Steelers, and Sunday’s game was no exception.

Pittsburgh Steelers v Cincinnati Bengals
Pittsburgh Steelers v Cincinnati Bengals
Photo by John Grieshop/Getty Images
Jeanna Kelley
Jeanna Kelley has been covering the Falcons for The Falcoholic since 2011 and the NFL for SB Nation since 2015.

The Pittsburgh Steelers came away with a win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, but it was not without conflict. During the game, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger told Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict that Roethlisberger’s wife is praying for him.

“It’s nothing what you’d expect, it’s actually I talked to him, I don’t remember if he said anything to me,” Roethlisberger said on The #1 Cochran Ben Roethlisberger show on Pittsburgh’s 93.7 the Fan. “I can share it because it’s my show. I said, ‘Hey, this is a great opportunity for me to tell you exactly what my wife wanted me to tell you if I got a chance. She wanted me to tell you that she’s praying for you.’ That’s what I told him, no joke.”

The exchange occurred after Burfict hit Roethlisberger late and then bumped helmets with him afterward while the two exchanged words.

Burfict has a long and storied history of being reckless on the field, and Roethlisberger said that even Burfict’s teammates are fed up with the way he plays.

“I don’t know what [Marvin Lewis is] able and capable of doing,” Roethlisberger said. “Maybe he’s tried, maybe he hasn’t, I don’t really know, I can’t speak for what they do over there ... I know some of their players they just can’t stand it and I know if it was on our team, we’d have to have a talk.”

Burfict had a huge game for the Bengals, but Cincinnati blew the 20-10 lead they carried into the half, losing 24-20.

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