The highly anticipated early-season matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers (2-0) and the Cincinnati Bengals (1-1) may not have had the pre-game vitriol or in-game bad blood with Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict missing due to a suspension, but that didn’t stop the game from being another tight contest where victory wasn’t seized until the final moments.
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Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) throws a pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016.
Elements both in and out of their control were on full display on Sunday, ranging from harsh weather, more-than-questionable officiating and maddening play on offense, but a handful of positions did their job well enough for the Bengals to have a chance for a win against the rival Steelers on Sunday.
When asked about how the Cincinnati Bengals fared against Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown on Sunday, Bengals cornerback Adam Jones turned the question around. Though it was not a attractive football game, neither did the two teams engage in anything ugly.
They also don’t have a loss, a trade-off they can live with while their defensive front four searches for consistency.
Dalton connected with running back Giovanni Bernard four times for 53 yards, including a 25-yard touchdown pass, on a 75-yard drive that trimmed Pittsburgh’s lead to 24-16, but that left just 3:34 remaining in the game. Superstar wide receiver A.J. Green was kept under wraps. Green, who only caught two balls for 38 yards.
I don’t know if Steelers fans would be understanding if the shoe was on the other foot but we don’t have to worry about that. The win wasn’t pretty for the offense but it was lovely watching Williams’ performance. “Look at what we were able to do during the course of the game”.
Green, guarded nearly exclusively by Pittsburgh cornerback Ross Cockrell, struggled to find much room to move.
Meanwhile, as soon as Bell came off suspension a year ago, he was immediately the man.
They also proved they are more balanced than we thought and more capable of winning games in a lot of different ways than we thought.
Their inability to run was most glaring in the third quarter, when they drove for a first-and-goal at the 1-yard line.
“When we do choose to run it, we can’t have one-person breakdowns”, Lewis said. The Steelers forced Dalton to make quick decisions, and he chose to play it safe rather than force something to Green.
“I knew it was close”, Dalton said. The Steelers never trailed in the game, although the Bengals did make a comeback effort that came up just short. “At the end of the day I play for the Bengals, and I wanted to perform for my team”. Pittsburgh tight end Jesse James received a 9-yard pass for Big Ben’s second touchdown completion of the game. Boyd said after the game, via the Dayton Daily News, that his “knee was down clearly” before the ball came out and the play was automatically reviewed as a turnover, but officials upheld the original ruling and the Steelers won 24-16.
NOWHERE TO RUN: The Bengals ran for just 46 yards on 18 carries and didn’t have a run over 10 yards.
Carried by another sterling defensive performance, Houston improved to 2-0 as they limited Kansas City (1-1) to 291 yards. One key for Pittsburgh was a defense that held Cincinnati to 4 of 16 on third downs. “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. “‘At the end of the day we don’t look at you as a rookie”. “So, we definitely needed him today”.
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Baltimore quarterback Luck, pressured by the vaunted pass of Denver (2-0), finished 21-of-40 for 197 yards and a touchdown for the visiting Colts (0-2), while Broncos’ signal caller Trevor Siemian was 22-of-33 for 266.
