Pittsburgh Steelers Erupt In Fourth Quarter To Defeat Cincinnati, Tighten AFC North Standings
By Brett Tunno
The Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns were Pittsburgh Steelers fans on Sunday afternoon, as Pittsburgh traveled to Cincinnati to face the first place Bengals.
With only three games remaining after this weekend, every game is crucial to win the AFC North, and the Steelers were looking to rebound from a bad home loss to the New Orleans Saints.
The Bengals came into today with an 8-3-1 record, while the Steelers, Ravens, and Browns were all 7-5.
Cincinnati had a chance to take control of the division, but the Steelers had other ideas.
Running back Le’Veon Bell was unstoppable, and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger connected on a 94-yard touchdown pass to rookie Martavis Bryant to break open the game in the fourth quarter.
The Steelers scored 25 points in the final quarter, as Pittsburgh tightened up the division with a 42-21 victory over the Bengals.
For Pittsburgh (8-5), Roethlisberger was 25 for 39 for 350 yards and 3 touchdowns, becoming the first Steeler to throw for 300 on the road against the Bengals since 1995. Wide receiver Antonio Brown finished with 9 receptions for 117 yards. Bell was arguably the Steelers’ best player, rushing for 185 yards on 26 carries and getting 50 yards receiving, along with three combined touchdowns.
The Bengals (8-4-1) three-game winning streak was stopped, and the division race got more interesting.
Quarterback Andy Dalton was 21 for 29 for 302 yards and 2 touchdowns, while A.J. Green had a career high 224 yards on 11 receptions for 1 touchdown.
Despite the Steelers deficiencies in their secondary, the offense amassed 543 total yards and took advantage of a costly Dalton fumble in the fourth quarter.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Steelers opened up the scoring with a Heath Miller 1 yard TD pass from Roethlisberger. The Bengals immediately countered with a 10 yard Dalton touchdown pass to Jermaine Gresham.
Late in the second quarter, Dalton rushed for a 20 yard touchdown to give the Bengals a 14-7 advantage, and the Steelers managed a Shaun Suisham 22-yard field goal to make it 14-10 at halftime.
Bell caught a 10-yard TD pass from Roethlisberger in the third quarter to give Pittsburgh a 17-14 edge. The Bengals took advantage of a struggling Steelers secondary, as Ike Taylor was burned by Green on a 81 yard touchdown pass from Dalton.
That would be the end of the Bengals scoring, however, as the fourth quarter was dominated by the Steelers. Suisham started the scoring with a 44-yard field goal to cut the Bengals lead to 1.
Le’Veon Bell then rushed into the endzone from 13 yards out, and Ben hit Heath Miller with a 2-point conversion to make it 28-21 Pittsburgh.
The dagger came on Pittsburgh’s next drive, as Roethlisberger connected with Martavis Bryant for a 94 yard touchdown pass to make it 35-21.
Bell punched in another touchdown from 22 yards out, to score his third touchdown of the game and make it 42-21.
In other important games, the Ravens improved to 8-5 with a 28-13 win over the Miami Dolphins (7-6), and the Browns fell to 7-6 with a tough 25-24 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
The Steelers will now travel to Atlanta next Sunday, followed by home games against Kansas City and Cincinnati.
The Bengals will travel to Cleveland next Sunday, followed by a home game against Denver and the final matchup with the Steelers, which may turn out to decide the AFC North Champion.