Ten years ago the Pittsburgh Steelers entered the playoffs as the number six seed and had to face the Cincinnati Bengals in the wildcard round.
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Cincinnati Bengals’ Adam Jones (24) checks on Reggie Nelson after Nelson sacked Pittsburgh Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger during the first half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game Saturday, Jan. 9, 2016, in Cincinnati.
A 42-yard pass interference penalty on an AJ McCarron bomb thrown for A.J. Green put the Bengals on the four-yard line, allowing Hill to run in from two yards for 15-7 and after a Mike Nugent field goal, McCarron’s toss to Green on the right touchline put Cincinnati ahead.
The loss extended the Bengals streak without a playoff victory to an NFL-long 25 years.
221 Penalty yards committed by both teams – 142 by the Steelers – which is more than double the 109 yards committed by both teams in the December 13 regular-season game at Paul Brown Stadium.
Cincinnati let it all slip away with a Jeremy Hill fumble, followed by those 30 yards in penalties. They have won 11 straight games.
■ Safety Robert Golden (shoulder sprain) had his arm in a sling, but he is said he is going to play in Denver.
Burfict was dumb for taking a shot at Steelers receiver Antonio Brown’s head on a pass he couldn’t catch.
At the center of the highlights of the 18-16 loss to the Steelers by the Bengals is Bengals linebacker Vontaze, who provided a hint about his dislike to the Steelers when he said, ” “I hate the Steelers”, became the missing link.
The player who made the most egregious mistake – Burfict’s shoulder to the head of defenseless receiver Antonio Brown – has been one of Lewis’ projects. The Bengals seemed to have the outcome secured, only to see the Steelers charge in front on Chris Boswell’s 35-yard field goal with 14 seconds remaining. He was hit with a $69,000 in fines last month for three separate plays in the Bengals’ game against the Steelers, including a hit on Roethlisberger.
Lewis declined to criticize either player directly after the game. We then knew if we gave the offense a chance they would do something. He was carted to the locker room, but returned to play the final drive of the game and led the Steelers to victory.
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Canfora says that the Steelers will take every precaution they can with Big Ben this week. Porter will likely be fined by the league, according to ESPN, but something tells me he won’t mind a bit.
