PITTSBURGH -- The first fine from last Sunday's wildly physical Bengals-Steelers game has surfaced. Steelers guard David DeCastro got hit with a fine of about $8,000 for a double face mask pull of Bengals defensive lineman Wallace Gilberry inside a pile during Pittsburgh’s 33-20 win.
Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict, who was not fined for a helmet shot to Ben Roethlisberger's ankles, was involved in the scrum, as was Steelers tackle Marcus Gilbert. Late in the fourth quarter, Burfict threw fullback Roosevelt Nix into a pile after the whistle. Burfict then fell into the pile as Gilberry and DeCastro were going down. The Steelers went on to score.
DeCastro will appeal the fine.
The Bengals-Steelers game was chaotic even before kickoff, with both teams scuffling at the 50-yard line over bad blood from a heated Nov. 1 matchup. After-the-whistle shoving was commonplace throughout the game.
-- NFL Nation Bengals reporter Coley Harvey contributed to this report.