Pittsburgh Steelers defeat Bengals 24-17
The Pittsburgh Steelers have gotten really good at making people who count them out look really bad in recent seasons.
If Sunday night is any indication, they’re getting ready to do it again.
Behind a smothering defense and revitalized running game, the Steelers overpowered the Cincinnati Bengals in a 24:17 win at Paul Brown Stadium.
The Steelers (3:3) entered Week 7 ranked 31st in the NFL in rushing, but they gashed the Bengals for 167 yards on the ground. They managed that despite missing both Rashard Mendenhall and Isaac Redman, not to mention Pro Bowl center Maurkice Pouncey.
Pittsburgh Steelers.
No one in the Pittsburgh Steelers locker room proclaimed that they’re back. No one talked about this 24-17 win over the Bengals becoming the turning point that will lead Pittsburgh back to the playoffs. And no one should after that ragged performance.
The reality of the situation – or the craziness of it in the AFC North – is that the Steelers (3-3) will wake up 1,5 games back of the division-leading Baltimore Ravens (5-2).
Despite all of their injuries, penalties and sloppy play, the Steelers can salvage this season if they play like they did in the fourth quarter. If they play like they did in the first half, the Steelers will be lucky to break even this season. Anyone who has watched the Steelers play this year knows it’s that cut-and-dried.
Over the final 10 weeks, it’s about finishing the season the way Pittsburgh finished off Cincinnati. For the final 15 minutes of the game, Pittsburgh pounded the Cincinnati Bengals defense into submission with a resourceful running game and never gave the Cincinnati offense any hope of coming back. For a brief moment, the Steelers looked like the Steelers on the road.
“I think it was a testament to will” – left guard Willie Colon said. “(Offensive line coach Sean) Kugler brought up Peyton Manning in his Monday night game and said, ‘If you look at Peyton’s eyes, it was the look of you refusing to lose.’ I think I kept saying that all week. You’ve got to refuse to lose, and that’s what we did.”
The Pittsburgh Steelers overcame two first-half turnovers, multiple dropped passes, and the absence of five key players, including four starters, to pull back to .500 and move into sole possession of second place in the AFC North with a 24:17 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday night.
Pittsburgh took advantage of a 41-yard return on the opening kickoff by rookie running back Chris Rainey to set up a 42-yard field goal by Shaun Suisham. The Bengals would respond with a 15-play, 80-yard drive that took over eight minutes off the clock and was punctuated with a five-yard run by backup running back Cedric Peerman.
On their following possession, the Steelers were in position to put more points on the scoreboard, but quarterback Ben Roethisberger’s pass towards well-covered tight end Heath Miller was intercepted in the end zone by safety Chris Crocker. On their next possesion, Roethlisberger fumbled after being sacked by Bengals defensive linemen Robert Geathers and Devon Still, with Wallace Gilberry recovering at the Steelers’ eight-yard line.
Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton connected with Pro Bowl receiver A.J. Green for an eight-yard touchdown on the following play to give Cincinnati a 14:3 lead. Green has now scored a touchdown in six consecutive games with a touchdown, but it would be the only pass he’d catch on the night as Ike Taylor blanketed him all night while the Steelers provided a safety over-the-top to keep the Bengals’ top offensive weapon in check.