Bud Dupree Hated Bengals Like A Dangerous ‘Subsequent Door Neighbor’

Although the Pittsburgh Steelers’ main rival is the Baltimore Ravens, the Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals also have a rivalry that has burned hot over the years. In fact, from 2014-2017 the Steelers-Bengals rivalry was the most violent since the player safety initiative began in 2010. Outside linebacker Bud Dupree was a member of the Steelers from 2015-2020 and experienced the peak of the rivalry which he described as distinct from anything else.

“The Bengals and Steelers was like a gladiator school,” said Dupree on The Digital Social Era Podcast. “We played them, they had [Vontaze] Burfict, they had [Adam] Pacman Jones…Every game we played them boys for a two year stretch, it was two people going to sleep each game.”

Dupree recalled standout moments of the Steelers-Bengals rivalry, mentioning Ryan Shazier’s career-ending injury, Antonio Brown’s concussion in the 2015 AFC Wild Card Game, Giovanni Bernard’s concussion in that same game, and a pregame incident between Burfict and Steelers linebacker Vince Williams.

While Dupree’s memory blurred some of the events, grouping them together in one single game, his point remained clear: the Steelers and Bengals rivalry was bitter and the physicality was brutal. Notable hits from 2015 alone include FS Mike Mitchell against WR Marvin Jones in the first meeting, a Mitchell hit against Bengals TE Tyler Eifert in the second meeting (which resulted in a huge fine), and the aforementioned Brown and Bernard hits in the Wild Card game.

While there were plenty of memorable moments from the rivalry between 2014 and 2017, 2015 was when the powder keg exploded and the hits were the hardest. Whether it was Twitter threats or dancing on logos after knock-out blows, the 2015 Steelers-Bengals rivalry had it all. It’s no surprise Dupree referenced that rivalry while reflecting on how much the NFL changed . In 2015 the Steelers and Bengals hated each other, and it went further than just a regular football rivalry.

“That Bengals and Steelers history was like a different type of rivalry,” said Dupree. “That felt like [a] high school rivalry. Like when you hate your next door neighbor. Every day I see them I just gotta get ’em.”

In recent years the rivalry has cooled off a bit, but there is still a strong dislike there, though the hatred nowadays won’t spill over into violence like back in 2015. Even in 2015, the Steelers-Bengals match-ups felt like a bygone era. If those hits happened today players would be suspended or kicked out of the league.