Steelers' Mitchell denies trying to take out Alex Smith's knees

In spite of damning tape, Pittsburgh Steelers safety Mike Mitchell insisted Monday he wasn't trying to injure Alex Smith during Sunday's game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

"The video shows what it shows. I wasn't trying to take Alex Smith's knees out," Mitchell told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. "I went up to him and told him that. ... It's just one of those things you don't want to see in the football game."

Mitchell was assessed a 15-yard penalty for roughing the passer after he delivered a shot to the back of Smith's leg well after he had gotten rid of the football.

"If you watch the tape, I'm even trying to turn my body as I'm falling," Mitchell said in his self-defense. "Alex is backpedaling into me, I wasn't even going in the direction of Alex. He's actually throwing it and fading away. There are a lot of things that go into the play that make it an accident you don't want to see."

Smith didn't buy Mitchell's innocence after the game - a tilt the Steelers won - telling reporters he couldn't understand what Mitchell was trying to accomplish.

Mitchell, who said he isn't concerned about the public's perception of him, added he isn't a dirty player.