After a malicious hit to Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown that knocked him out, Cincinnati Bengals Linebacker Vontaze Burfict has been suspended for the first three games of the 2016 season. This news according to NFL insider Adam Schefter via Twitter. Burfict is appealing the suspension, per Ian Rapoport.

"Vontaze Burfict has been suspended for the first three games of the 2016 regular-season, per NFL." (@AdamSchefter)

Burfict was visibly frustrated after the game, a game in which the hit he delivered to Brown was one of two penalties that caused Cincinnati their season in a self-destruction like no other. When talking to the media postgame, Burfict became irritated and started giving them the Marshawn Lynch treatment and answered "I don't know" to every question that was asked. This hit cause quite an interesting reaction that was very mixed, and probably more mixed than it should be.

"He's trying to go over and defend the play," this coming from Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, via Jim Owczarski of the ​Cincinnati Enquirer. "There were a lot of plays out there and calls went different way. They deemed that to be a hit to the head I guess​, and others not today." Lewis is doing what any coach would do, he's defending his guy. There is no doubt this was a dirty hit and it is definitely one that the NFL does not want to happen. The more shocking quote actually came from the Steelers locker room.

There were mixed opinions in the Pittsburgh locker room following Saturday's Wild Card game. Per Owczarski, safety Mike Mitchell made a warning to Burfict, saying that he would "get his." But one Steeler, believe it or not, actually defended the hit Burfict delivered to his own teammate. Linebacker James Harrison told NFL Network following the game that "By rule as they told me when I went down to New York that is a penalty. Personally, I don't think it is because I don't think you have can get out of the way fast enough." To an extent, Harrison is right because it is hard to just stop on a dime when running as fast as football players are going sometimes.

However, this was not one of those instances. Burfict could have gone low or tried to duck underneath Brown. Instead, he chose to deliver a hit to his head and knock him out. Hopefully for Burfict this is a wake-up call, honestly. It would be a shame for him to continue to be a head case on the field because the 25-year-old, Arizona State Sun Devils product is a damn good linebacker. He just needs to get his head on straight and keep it that way. Hit hard and inflict pain, that is how you want to be as a linebacker. But don't do dumb things like this that make you look awful.

As for an update on the Steelers number one receiver, he may not be on the field on Sunday when the Steelers go to Mile High to take on the number one seeded Denver Broncos. According to Bob Holtzman of ESPN, Antonio Brown's status is "not looking good" for Sunday. The Steelers will most likely have to go without one of their top offensive weapons. But things could be worse, as Holtzman also reports that it is "very likely" that Ben Roethlisberger plays Sunday. With Roethlisberger at the helm, the Steelers can survive without Brown. And hopefully while Vontaze Burfict is watching at home, he can learn something from all of this.