The Pittsburgh Steelers squeaked out another win against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night thanks to another late heroic touchdown by, you guessed it- Antonio Brown. Coming into the game, Brown was listed as questionable with a toe injury and reportedly noticeably in pain and restricted in his pregame movement. Ultimately, Brown would finish the game with 8 catches for 101 yards and the game tying touchdown with just under 4 minutes remaining in the game.
Looking ahead to the game-tying touchdown, the Steelers trailed the Bengals by 7 points with 8 minutes remaining in the game. The Steelers were able to march right down the field in 4 minutes leaving themselves a 1st and goal on the Bengals 6 yard line. Brown was able to shake Bengals cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick with a stutter step quickly into his slant route where he caught a bullet pass from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
Roethlisberger’s pass was fit in perfectly right over the extended arm of Bengals cornerback Josh Shaw as he had underneath coverage on Brown. The pass also arrived just in time before safety George IIoka could close in on Brown. Ultimately, IIoka was a second late and unsuccessful in his attempt to dislodge the ball from Brown as he picked up a 15 yard unnecessary roughness penalty with a helmet to helmet hit on him.
Following the 15 yard penalty on the Bengals, the Steelers kicked off from the 50 yard line which resulted in the Bengals starting their drive on their own 12 yard line. Two plays later the Bengals were faced with a 3rd and 2 and linebacker Bud Dupree was able to get an impressive sack on Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton.
The Steelers only rushed 3 on the play and used a QB spy to contain Dalton as he stepped up into the pocket. Dupree rushed quickly around the edge and was almost forced out of the play as he ended up a full 5 yards behind Dalton instantly. With the great coverage in the middle of the field, Dalton was forced to step up into the pocket which gave Dupree just enough time to wrap him up from behind. With the sack, the Bengals were forced to punt the ball with plenty of time remaining for the Steelers.
Eight plays and 2:42 later, Steelers kicker Chris Boswell kicked a game winning 38 yard field goal as time expired. The Steelers moved to 10-2 on the season and will host the 7-5 Baltimore Ravens next Sunday night.
