CINCINNATI BENGALS linebacker Vontaze Burfict turned from hero to villain on Saturday night as his disgusting hit on Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Antonio Brown sent the Bengals crashing out of the play-offs.

Brown was left sprawled on the turf unconscious and may miss this week’s clash with the Denver Broncos, such was the force to which Burfict’s shoulder collided into Brown’s helmet.

With 22 seconds left on the clock and Pittsburgh 15-16 down, an errant throw from Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger evaded Brown’s outstretched arms and as he came back down, Burfict stormed across shoulder first into Brown’s temple.

Medical staff rushed on to the field to attend to Brown, who was able to walk off after receiving treatment but was diagnosed with a concussion and is a major doubt for the divisional play-off game in Denver.

Burfict now faces a suspension given his track record of late hits on players in the past.

Tempers flared in the match late in the third quarter, when Jeremy Hill was knocked unconscious after a helmet-to-helmet collision with Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier.

The crowd in Cincinnati were furious with the play, with supporters throwing things onto the field and when Roethlisberger had to be carted off with a shoulder injury, he was sacked by Burfict, the crowd cheered the injury to the quarterback.

However, it was the late hit on Brown which cost the Bengals a 15-yard penalty which moved the Steelers into field goal range.

And when Bengals cornerback Adam Jones pushed Pittsburgh’s assistant Joey Porter, another 15-yard penalty ensued leaving kicker Chris Boswell with an easy 35-yard penalty to win his side the game 18-16.

In the other wildcard game, Kansas City Chiefs ended their 22-year wait for a play-off victory after a comfortable 30-0 victory over the disappointing Houston Texans.