Vontaze Burfict says the refs were nice to him in Denver

Winning creates happy moods.

Need evidence?

Winning also creates a happy Vontaze Burfict.

After a Bengals player accused NFL officials of cursing at and provoking Burfict, as well as refs coming into contact with Burfict three times in recent weeks, Burfict had no complaints after the Bengals’ win over the Broncos in Denver. He even went as far as to say the refs were nice to him on Sunday.

“Today was a calm game,” Burfict said after the win, via Jeremy Rauch. “I would say the refs were being nice to me.”

Burfict played a pivotal part in the Bengals’ 20-17 win in Denver. He finished the game with a team-leading 12 tackles (11 solo), 1 forced fumble and 1 sack. He was making plays all over the field all game long.

“Whenever you’re making plays and you’re winning, it’s always a fun game,” Burfict said. “You can fly around and make plays. When you’re losing, you kind of have to stay within the scheme and you can’t guess sometimes. Me and Dre (Kirkpatrick) kept telling each other when we came to the sideline “happy place” and you know, just continue to not let them score.”

The Bengals’ defense did its job on Sunday, despite being on the field for more than 10 minutes longer than the offense. The issue of the Bengals’ offense severely lacking in the time of possession battle continued in Denver. But even despite the altitude, the defense was able to get the job done in not allowing the Broncos to score when given an opportunity to take the lead in the closing minutes of the game.

“C.J. [Anderson] is a friend of mine. It’s always a physical game when I play him because he is like a bowling ball,” Burfict said after the game when asked about his forced fumble on the Broncos running back. “I have known him since college and he is a good player. I have been watching him. He is from California just like I am from California. I’m a big fan of his, but when I see him break through the hole I know I need to get ready. I saw which side he had the ball on so I just put my helmet on that side of the ball and it just popped up.”

I’m a fan of happy Burfict and hope the Bengals continue to provide reason for him to be happy by winning down the stretch. The Bengals take on the 0-10 Browns next Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium and Burfict should be pretty happy by the time that game finishes up.