Vontaze Burfict on Nick Chubb injury: “You don’t go for a dude’s knee”

Former Cincinnati Bengals Pro Bowl linebacker Vontaze Burfict may have been criticized for his play style, but he actually feels strongly about the fundamentals of tackling. “I couldn’t go for an offensive receiver’s knees,” he said. “I couldn’t do it. I’d rather just man up and hit him.”

Recently, he was interviewed by Pacman Jones, and the topic of Nick Chubb’s season-ending injury on Monday Night Football came up. Chubb, of course, was hurt when Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick hit his knee low on a tackle.

Here’s what Burfict had this to say:

As a defender, if you see somebody on the offensive [player]’s back, you would try to punch the ball out or watch him go down. You don’t go for a dude’s knee when he’s already top-down heavy and he can’t jump over you, he can’t defeat you. That’s the stuff the Steelers do, though. They kinda do like the borderline stuff.

Check out the entire interview below: