The Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals have had some great battles over the years, featuring some high-scoring affairs, ugly finishes and plenty of drama and bad blood in between.
Defensively though, there might not be a better performance than the one the Steelers put on display on December 12, 2010, at then-Heinz Field on a rather sloppy day in the city of Pittsburgh.
Entering the Week 14 matchup between the two AFC North foes, each team was trending in a different direction. Pittsburgh came in at 9-3 and had won three straight, including a thrilling overtime win over the Baltimore Ravens the week before on the road, the same game in which Ben Roethlisberger broke his nose.
The Bengals, on the other hand, were coming in at 2-10, having lost nine straight games. They were an abject mess and were really banged up on the defensive side of the football.
In sloppy, wet conditions, Pittsburgh’s offense was slow to get going, but the defense stood tall and showed what type of day it was going to be for the team in the Black and Gold in front of its faithful home crowd.
After an early scoring drive in which the Steelers’ defense was slow to get going, allowing a 22-yard strike from quarterback Carson Palmer to veteran receiver Terrell Owens and then a 19-yard pass interference penalty on Ike Taylor that was ultimately capped off by a 1-yard touchdown pass from Palmer to left tackle Andrew Whitworth on a trick play, Pittsburgh settled in.
Following a few stalled drives offensively, the Steelers defense found itself in some trouble early in the second quarter as Palmer found wide receiver Chad Johnson for 15 yards and then found running back Cedric Benson for 24 yards.
That’s when outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley turned up the heat and changed the game.
Woodley sacked Palmer for a 7-yard loss on first and 10 from the Steelers’ 27. One play later, Lawrence Timmons blew up a screen pass to Benson for a loss of three, and then Palmer misfired on a third-down pass, turning what looked to be a scoring drive for the Bengals into a punt with Pittsburgh trailing 7-0.
Pittsburgh’s offense couldn’t do much of anything on the next drive as a banged-up Roethlisberger, sporting a visor and a bandage to protect his broken nose and a heavily taped right foot to protect the broken bone in his foot, relied heavily on quick throws and runs after the catch.
Cincinnati limited the big plays and tackled well, creating the slow start for the Steelers.
Following a Pittsburgh punt though, star safety Troy Polamalu got the party started for the Steelers.
On a second and eight from the Cincinnati 33-yard line, Palmer fired across the middle of Owens, but Polamalu jumped the route and raced home 45 yards for the pick-6 on his former college teammate and roommate, tying the game up at 7-7.
It wasn’t the first time Polamalu did that to Palmer at Heinz Field, either.
Tied at 7-7, the Steelers offense built off of the spark generated by the defense.
A quick three-and-out from the defense after the pick-six gave the Steelers the ball back. Pittsburgh then marched right down the field to take the lead.
Roethlisberger found Antonio Brown for 12 yards, then hit Hines Ward over the middle for 18 yards before then firing a strike to Antwaan Randle El for 22 yards that was capped off by a spectacular leaping, one-handed grab from Randle El — who made his return to Pittsburgh that season after four seasons in Washington.
Two plays later, a high snap led to a thrilling 13-yard scramble from Roethlisberger to set up shop at the Cincinnati 5-yard line with time running down in the first half before the Steelers ultimately settled for a 23-yard field goal from Shaun Suisham and a halftime lead of 10-7.
Coming out of the break, the Steelers stayed hot offensively.
Roethlisberger found Ward for 23 yards and then later found him for 21 yards on a great leaping grab over the top of safety Tom Nelson. The drive ultimately stalled though and Suisham made it a 13-7 game thanks to a 35-yard field goal with 8:38 left in the third quarter.
Cincinnati tried to mount a drive of its own, but ultimately punted the football away again.
The Steelers then mounted an 18-play drive that was highlighted by a 29-yard strike from Roethlisberger to Ward and a 22-yard throw from Roethlisberger to Wallace but the drive stalled at the Cincinnati 3 after back-to-back sacks of Roethlisberger, forcing a Jeremy Kapinos punt that the Steelers downed at the Cincinnati 10-yard line.
One play later, it was 20-7 Steelers.
Woodley, who was a force all game long, dropped into coverage in the shallow flat and undercut a stop route to Chad Johnson, racing home 14 yards for the pick-6 — the second of the day on Palmer — igniting the home crowd.
The second pick-6 really deflated the Bengals, who couldn’t do much of anything offensively after that. The Steelers, on the other hand, kept rolling.
Roethlisberger found Wallace on a deep ball for 33 yards, setting up a Suisham 41-yard field goal with 5:34 left in the fourth quarter. Polamalu then capped off the AFC North win the only way he knew how: with another thrilling interception.
In hurry-up mode, Cincinnati drove down the field, but on a first and 10 from the Pittsburgh 16, Palmer threw for Owens over the middle but it was again Polamalu who undercut the route and picked off the pass. Dealing with a hurt ankle, Polamalu tried to gut out the return and even lateraled the ball to cornerback Bryant McFadden across the field, taking a huge shot from Cincinnati fullback Brian Leonard in the process.
The pick sealed the win though and lifted the Steelers to a convincing AFC North win. At the end of regulation there was a bit of a scuffle at midfield before cooler heads prevailed, but the Steelers moved to 10-3 while Cincinnati fell to 2-11.
In the win, Roethlisberger completed 21-of-33 passes for 258 yards. Rashard Mendenhall carried the rock 18 times for 66 yards, while Ward led the way with eight receptions for 115 yards. Wallace added five receptions for 78 yards.
Defensively, Polamalu picked off two passes, while Woodley picked off a pass, recorded two sacks and finished with five tackles. James Farrior and Ryan Clark led the way with 10 and eight tackles, respectively.
For Cincinnati, Palmer finished 20-of-32 for 178 yards, one touchdown and the three interceptions. Benson carried the ball just eight times for 19 yards, while Jordan Shipley was the leading receiver with three catches for 26 yards. Safety Roy Williams led the Bengals with 11 tackles.
Pittsburgh went on to ultimately finish 12-4 that season, winning the AFC North before ultimately losing in the Super Bowl to the Green Bay Packers, 31-25. Cincinnati, on the other hand, finished 4-12 and last in the AFC North. That poor season led to Cincinnati landing wide receiver A.J. Green in the 2011 NFL Draft at No. 4 overall, as well as quarterback Andy Dalton to open the second round at No. 35 overall.
