For the first time since January 6, 1991, the Cincinnati Bengals almost secured their first postseason win in the 9,134 days between victory.
Advertisement
The real question, then, is how much he’ll be able to do. But an unnecessary hit by Burfict on receiver Antonio Brown and subsequent 15-yard personal foul on Bengals cornerback Adam Jones moved the ball well into field-goal range.
There were NINETEEN penalties combined (ten attributed to Pittsburgh and nine to Cincinnati) in this game, with a lot of them as mentioned before, having to do with the constant fighting and hatred between these two longtime AFC Central (1970-2001) and AFC North (2002-present) rivals.
– Chris Boswell, Steelers, booted a 35-yard field goal – his fourth kick of the game – with 14 seconds remaining in Pittsburgh’s 18-16 victory at Cincinnati.
As bad as the first 30 minutes were, Saturday night’s AFC Wild Card match-up between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals actually turned out to be quite the entertaining contest.
In the Broncos’ previous game against the Steelers three weeks ago in Pittsburgh, Roethlisbergeer completed 40 of 55 for 380 yards and three touchdowns. Perhaps Burfict should have stayed in the locker room because his hit on Brown not only cost his team the game, but could cost them games next season if he’s suspended.
“It was dire”, said Steelers coach Mike Tomlin of choosing to pull Landry Jones in favor of Big Ben. The Steelers tried a two-point conversion but came up empty.
After a Jeremy Hill fumble gave the ball back to the Steelers with an improbable fumble after stretching for extra yards, Roethlisberger re-entered the game, drove his Steelers downfield to get them in position.
Roethlisberger then came back with 1:23 to go to lead the winning drive. The Bengals defense held up against the powerhouse Pittsburgh and forced an early punt.
Burfict’s emotional play epitomized Cincinnati’s dramatic comeback and its epic meltdown. But Burfict and the Bengals, who clawed back with emotion, got clobbered by those same emotions through needless penalties.
Roethlisberger left with a right shoulder injury on the final play of the third quarter but returned for Pittsburgh’s last-gasp drive. He did eventually return to the sideline but not to the game.
AJ McCarron had put together a late rally after Martavis Bryant’s somersaulting touchdown grab gave the Steelers a 15-0 lead heading into the final quarter.
“I’m just so proud of everybody, players stepped up”.
The fumble occurred after the Bengals had a first down at the Steelers’ 29 because Hill ran 38 yards on the previous play.
Cincinnati finally got into the end zone when on 2nd and 1 from the PIT 1 yard line, running back JEREMY HILL (12 carries for 50 yards and 1 score) followed pulling guard CLINT BOLING into the end zone.
Three field goals by Pittsburgh accounted for all the offense in the first half.
Roethlisberger was 13-of-24 for 189 yards and one touchdown before leaving.
Advertisement
Two plays later, Bryant made the kind of acrobatic play rarely seen for his 10-yard touchdown catch.
