Both offenses struggle in Bengals’ 13-10 win
PITTSBURGH — Make no mistake, this was a defensive struggle, but from an offensive standpoint, the last eight minutes of Cincinnati’s 13-10 win over the Steelers Sunday at Heinz field was … well, offensive.
The sequence of back-to-back field goal misses from 56 and 53 yards, followed by a punt, an interception and a game-winning field goal would have been laughable, if it weren’t so tragic.
You take it.
No, I don’t want it, you take it.
No, I sure don’t want it, please help yourself.
No, thanks, I insist, you take it.
To which the Bengals, finally and thankfully, agreed.
Overtime? In this game. It might have set football back 30 years.
It wasn’t decided until Ben Roethlisberger’s final throw was intercepted by Cincinnati’s Reggie Nelson. One Andy Dalton pass completion to A.J. Green for 21 yards later, the Bengals got the game winner, a 43-yard Josh Brown field goal that send the Bengals to the playoffs and knocked the Steelers out of them.
Asked about his last interception, Roethlisberger didn’t have much to say.
“There is nothing to talk about,” he said. “You saw it, I threw it to them.”
Actually, it was Roethlisberger’s first interception, the one Leon Hall returned 17 yards for the game’s first score, that turned out to be the back-breaker.
“I didn’t see him,” Roethlisberger said. “I asked (intended receiver) Heath Miller and he said he didn’t see him, either. He made a good play. He hid behind Heath and at the last minute undercut it and made a good play.”
It was one of those days for Roethlisberger and the Steelers offense. Earlier in the game, Roethlisberger overthrew a wide open Mike Wallace, who could have walked into the end zone.
“It just came out of my hand high,” Roethlisberger said. “As soon as it left my hand, I knew it.”
POSITIVES: Jonathan Dwyer ran for 10 yards on the first play from scrimmage. … Lawrence Timmons sacked Andy Dalton on Dalton’s second drop-back of the game and Keisel dropped him on the next play. … Isaac Redman converted a fourth-and-1 and Rashard Mendenhall busted a 20-yard run to put the Steelers in scoring position. … Casey Hampton sacked Dalton. … Troy Polamalu delivered a well-timed hit on A.J. Green to break up a deep pass late in the second quarter. … In the no-huddle offense, Roethlisberger completed two passes to Antonio Brown for 73 yards, including a 60-yarder for the touchdown that cut Cincinnati’s lead to 10-7 1:09 before halftime. … The Steelers tied the score on a Suisham field goal from 40 yards out. The kick capped a 10-play, 45-yard drive that began with a 22-yard pass to Heath Miller. … Cortez Allen had a key pass break-up to force a Cincinnati punt. … Ryan Clark recovered an A.J. Green fumble that was caused by Cortez Allen early in the fourth quarter. … Josh Victorian’s pass defense became Cortez Allen’s second interception of the game.
NEGATIVES: Roethlisberger was sacked by Geno Atkins on his first drop-back of the game. … Keisel was called for a celebration penalty after his sack, giving the Bengals a first down. … Roethlisberger’s first pass to Heath Miller was intercepted by Leon Hall, who returned it 17 yards for the game’s first touchdown. … Shaun Suisham missed a 24-yard field goal 9:14 before halftime. … Max Starks was called for a false start on third-and-3. … Brandon Tate took a short pass and ran for 23 yards on second-and-15. … The Steelers failed to capitalize on Cortez Allen’s interception on the first play of the second half, as Roethlisberger was sacked on third down. … Hampton was called for offside on third-and-1. … After recovering a Bengals fumble, the Steelers went three-and-out, with Roethlisberger being sacked by Atkins on third down.
MILESTONES: Allen’s two interceptions were the first of his career. … The loss was Pittsburgh’s fifth three-point loss of the season and they have lose five of their last six games. Ironically, the only win in that bunch was a road win at Baltimore with Charlie Batch at quarterback. … Rashard Mendenhall led the team in rushing with 50 yards on 11 carries. … Antonio Brown was the leader in receptions (5) and receiving yards (97). … Heath Miller topped his personal season high with 816 receiving yards.
INJURIES: Baron Batch suffered a broken right arm and did not return. … Curtis Brown suffered a strained Achilles tendon and did not return. … Heath Miller suffered a PCL and MCL injury late in the game. … Mike Wallace suffered a hamstring injury. … Maurkice Pouncey has an MCL injury
NEXT UP: The Steelers host the Cleveland Browns at 1 p.m. next Sunday in the regular-season finale, while Cincinnati hosts Baltimore.
WORTH REPEATING: Steelers coaach Mike Tomlin, when asked whether Roethlisberger was improvising on offense: “I wouldn’t characterize it that way. Obviously, it wasn’t effective enough for us to win. The things we aspire to do and the process in which we went about it in the early portions of the season were the same as they are today. Obviously, with different results. We’re not looking to make excuses for those results. We’ve got to coach better and play better than we did.”