Steelers' Domata Peko weird revenge stance against Bengals in Week 3

Former Cincinnati Bengals fan favorite Domata Peko played a role in the team’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 3.

Peko, after all, is a member of the Steelers coaching staff now. But it goes a little beyond that little factoid. 

Appearing on Cameron Heyward’s podcast, “Not Just Football with Cam Heyward,” Steelers defensive lineman Derrick Harmon revealed that Peko treated the Week 3 game as a revenge opportunity against the Bengals.

“He really harped on how he was there for 11 years, and he got to that last year in his contract, and of course a guy like him should have renewed his contract there, but they didn’t want to cause he was old,” Harmon said. “And that kind of left a bad taste in his mouth as it should cause he went on to play another four or five years in the league.”

Nuance is a must here. Peko spent 11 years with the Bengals, clocking around $38.7 million in the process. His last season was 2016, and from 2017-2020 with three different teams, he never saw more than 53 percent of a defense’s snaps. 

So, there’s some exaggeration going on here. Peko was a “Ruler of the Jungle” against the Steelers back in 2023. He’s a fan favorite and that won’t change. Peko himself probably isn’t too thrilled that this little bit of behind-the-scenes motivation he used to get his players ready for an AFC North game is public, either. 

Either way, it adds a little spice to when the Bengals and Steelers meet again in Week 10.

This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Steelers’ Domata Peko weird revenge stance against Bengals in Week 3