Of course, in such a close game between two teams with a history like the Bengals and Steelers, it only seems fitting that there was at least one controversial call that could have changed everything.
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They also don’t have a loss, a trade-off they can live with while their defensive front four searches for consistency.
The weather made it hard to pass the ball at times and Cincinnati made life miserable for Pittsburgh’s star receiver, Antonio Brown.
Green finished with just two receptions for 38 yards while getting shadowed by Pittsburgh’s Ross Cockrell. “They’re still legends, and we appreciate what they did for us”, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said.
Bernard acknowledged that a one-person breakdown can trigger a negative domino effect in the run game, but emphasized that “as a running back I always try to be able to not let that first man tackle me, and I haven’t really done that this year and hopefully I can get that going”.
Green, guarded nearly exclusively by Pittsburgh cornerback Ross Cockrell, struggled to find much room to move. “They’re still legends and we appreciate what they did for us, but these are the guys that play for us now”.
After going undrafted and being signed by the Giants in 2014, Grimble bounced around multiple rosters before landing in Pittsburgh previous year. His third-down throw to Tevin Coleman was broken up, but the ball bounced high in the air and Hardy caught it in the end zone to put Atlanta (1-1) up 28-21. “That’s all we wanted to do”.
Sunday’s game, by all accounts, was pretty clean said several players afterward. His first career National Football League catch was a enormous 20-yarder from Big Ben, putting the Steelers up 7-3 early in the contest. The Raiders (1-1) appeared to tie on the next drive when Amari Cooper caught a 51-yard touchdown pass from Derek Carr, butt officials ruled Cooper went out of bounds voluntarily before making the catch, although the Raiders contended he was pushed by Desmond Trufant.
If you missed the play, or haven’t had chance to talk to an irate Bengals fan over the past 24 hours, here’s what happened: On first-and-10 from the Steelers 39, Andy Dalton hit rookier receiver Tyler Boyd with a short 6-yard pass and that’s when the chaos started. “They didn’t see it that way overall, so that’s all that matters”.
Only the Vikings and Los Angeles Rams are averaging fewer yards per carry than the Bengals’ 2.8 yards per attempt. Throw in former first round pick Darqueze Dennard allowing all of Coates’ production on the afternoon (two catches, 97 yards), and concern has to be arising. His leaping grab in the third quarter gave Pittsburgh a two-score lead, though one that only pulled him even with the lightly used Grimble.
“There was not evidence to overturn”, Lewis said Monday. “We were there in a playoff game, and we were up, 13-0, and there were about six minutes left in the first half”.
HOLDING TIGHT: So much for concerns about a drop off at tight end for the Steelers with Heath Miller retired and Ladarius Green nursing a knee injury.
The Steelers started the scoring late in the first quarter, when Ben Roethlisberger found TE Xavier Grimble for a 20-yard TD. “I saw the guy come open and just tried to make a play to get our defense off the field”.
“He played great for us today”.
Nearly immediately after their 2015 season had ended with a loss in the playoffs to the Broncos in Denver, the Steelers started focusing on the importance of being home during the playoffs.
The Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals stuck to football this time.
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The Pittsburgh Steelers will now travel east to face the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, September 25 at 4:25 p.m. More importantly, it might also show that Pittsburgh’s secondary is growing into one that is capable of stopping an opponent’s best option. All of that adds up to a team that looks a lot more like a Super Bowl contender than it has in a number of years.
