Steelers kicker Chris Boswell beats Bengals with more than his foot
CINCINNATI — Seriously, Eli Rogers says he’s long had an appreciation for kickers, well before Chris Boswell’s heroics in Cincinnati. It’s a respect that dates all the way back to, like, a few days ago.
That’s when, during a lull in practice, the Steelers wide receiver says he spotted a ball at the 50-yard line and lined up what he thought would be a fairly routine kick. Thing is, Rogers looked up and almost magically, the uprights seemed to move further away, and the goal posts started to narrow.
“It looked like one of those mazes that never stop, like a long hole,” Rogers said. “I definitely take my hat off to him. He did a great job.”
On Sunday, Boswell – all 185 pounds of him — was the biggest difference between victory and a defeat that would have put a serious crimp in the Steelers’ playoff hopes. Boswell tied a franchise-record by kicking six field goals in the Steelers’ much-needed 24-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals at cold and windy Paul Brown Stadium. But more on that later.
Some will suggest that the turning point in Sunday’s win came when Jeremy Hill threatened to shred a Terrible Towel, an iconic symbol of all that is right and true for Pittsburghers. Hill’s TD touchdown run gave Cincinnati a 17-3 lead with 9:06 left in the first half. But, actually, the game turned four minutes later when Boswell made a touchdown-saving tackle on Alex Erickson’s 72-yard kick return. After limiting Cincinnati to a field goal on that drive, the Steelers went on to outscore the Bengals 21-3.
And who says kickers aren’t football players?
“I just dove and hit something and he went down,” Boswell said. “I don’t know how much I hit him or anything.”
The Steelers know this: They don’t win that game without Boswell. If the Steelers should somehow get to Houston in February, Boswell’s shoestring tackle on Erickson might go down as the second-best shoestring tackle behind only Ben Roethlisberger on Nick Harper in Indianapolis more than a decade ago.
Since the start of OTAs, the Steelers have stated all along that their goal is to score 30 points per game. On Sunday, Boswell nearly did that himself, albeit three points at a time.
Keep in mind that five of Boswell’s six kicks weren’t of the ”gimme” variety either. Boswell connected from 45, 49, 49, 40, 49 and 30 yards and all were in less-than-ideal conditions. Indeed, Boswell’s two 49-yarders would have been good from 51, maybe 52 yards.
“All in all, I hit the ball pretty well,” said Boswell, whose six field goals tied a mark held by Jeff Reed (Dec. 1, 2002) and Gary Anderson (Oct. 23, 1988). “They didn’t look pretty, didn’t go over by much, but they went in.”
Much the same could be said for the Steelers, who won despite having far from their best game.
The Steelers’ run game, so good during their current run, was rather pedestrian. The defense, which had 18 sacks over the last month, had just one Sunday, to go along with Lawrence Timmons’ one interception.
“It may not be the prettiest win, it might not be glamorous at all, but we’re the Steelers, we’re blue collar, we’re going to get the job done, no matter what,” Timmon said.
“If it’s a W, we’ll take it. Right now, it’s December. We’ll take it.”
For the Steelers, Sunday’s win sets up a showdown on Christmas Day at Heinz Field with the Baltimore Ravens, with the winner likely winning the AFC North and a playoff spot. And if recent history holds true, that game could be decided by a field goal. Eight of the last 11 games between the Steelers and Ravens have been decided by a touchdown or less.
If that’s the case, Boswell will be ready.
“With the high powered offense we have, some things just don’t click some days,” Boswell said. “As specialists, we have to be there to punt the ball and set up the defense with good field position or score field goals when we need to.”