Earlier this week, Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd took some shots at the Pittsburgh Steelers ahead of their Week 16 matchup, accusing the Steelers of not being together as a team.
Now, a Steelers player is firing back.
“He wouldn’t know. He’s not in the locker room,” Pittsburgh cornerback Joey Porter Jr. told reporters, via The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “So his opinion really doesn’t matter.”
Boyd was particularly critical of Steelers wide out George Pickens, who stirred up some controversy when he didn’t block for running back Jaylen Warren on a red-zone rushing attempt, resulting in Warren being stopped near the goal line. Pickens provided an explanation for his actions, saying he was trying to avoid injury, but Warren didn’t want to hear of it, stating that he would have blocked for Pickens if the roles were reversed.
“It just shows the lack of camaraderie that’s over there,” Boyd said, via Ben Baby of ESPN. “I can’t really talk for anybody, but when things ain’t going well, you’ve still got to perform at a high level and do what you can to help your team.”
While Boyd’s comments probably rung true, they are obviously not going to sit well with the Steelers, who would prefer to handle things within their own locker room.
Pittsburgh’s locker-room dynamics have been a hot topic in recent weeks, with former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger wondering if the “Steeler Way” is dead and head coach Mike Tomlin clearly not happy with Pickens’ antics.
It doesn’t help matters that the Steelers have lost three straight games to fall to 7-7, dropping them out of the AFC playoff picture.
Pittsburgh can still make the postseason, but it is going to be difficult for the club to do so with just three games remaining.
The Steelers can start by beating the Bengals—who currently hold the second Wild Card spot in the conference—on Saturday afternoon.
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