Just a few days after beating Cleveland, the Pittsburgh Steelers traveled to Cincinnati to battle the Bengals on Thursday Night Football. The Steelers were sent home with a loss by a score of 33-31. Pittsburgh now falls to 4-2, while the Bengals improve to 3-4.
The Steelers got the ball first and managed to work their way down the field with ease. Led by a quick 39-yard pass to DK Metcalf, it didn’t take long to get to the red zone. Once there, Rodgers scrambled on third down and found Jonnu Smith in the end zone from 10 yards out. Boswell’s extra point gave the Steelers a 7-0 lead.
Cincinnati responded with a three and out, and Pittsburgh did the same after a botched flea flicker. On their second drive, the Bengals did start to work the ball down the field. They’d face a 3rd and 6 just ahead of midfield, but had a false start. On their 3rd and 11 attempt, Joey Porter Jr. knocked the ball out of Andrei Iosivas’ hands, and the Steelers forced a Bengals punt.
The Steelers then went on a 12-play drive, led by chunk pickups from Jaylen Warren, Kenneth Gainwell and Smith. They worked their way to 4th and 1 and went for it, but their tush push was called back due to a false start. They’d settle for a 41-yard field goal, which Boswell made to extend the lead to 10-0.
The Bengals, who have been terrible running the ball all year, finally put some things together on their third drive. Some chunk runs and dink-and-dunk passes got the Bengals all the way into the red zone. Joe Flacco found Ja’Marr Chase in the end zone, but he couldn’t hold onto the ball after hitting the ground, and the call was overturned. On the next play, Chase got away with a seemingly clear push on Jalen Ramsey and caught the ball while falling for a touchdown. The extra point cut the lead to 10-7.
The Steelers then quickly handed the ball back. Moments later, Rodgers overthrew Metcalf into double coverage down the field, with Jordan Battle intercepting the ball. On the next play, Chase Brown took a handoff up the middle for 37 yards, getting the ball down to Pittsburgh’s 39-yard line. Two plays later, Flacco found Tee Higgins over the middle for a 29-yard score. The extra point gave the Bengals their first lead on the day at 14-10.
Getting the ball with just over two minutes left, the Steelers worked their way to midfield. Then, Rodgers was picked again, this time with DJ Turner II stripping the ball from Metcalf as the two fell out of bounds. Cincinnati took over at their own 30-yard line with 40 seconds left in the half. A couple passes got them into field goal range, and Evan McPherson hit a 49-yard field goal as time expired to give the Bengals a 17-10 lead over the Steelers at halftime.
The Bengals got the ball to start the second half, and they picked up exactly where they left off. Joe Flacco remained in control, completing passes of 14 and 16 yards as Cincinnati moved down the field. A successful tush push on 4th and 1 put the Bengals inside the 10-yard line, but the drive would stall out there. McPherson made a 23-yard field goal to extend Cincinnati’s lead to 20-10.
Finally, the Steelers started to run the ball well. Warren ripped off a 24-yard run and Roman Wilson came up with a huge third down conversion to work the Steelers to the 11-yard line. A blown-up screen and an incompletion forced the Steelers into 3rd and 18, when Rodgers found Pat Freiermuth on a beautiful throw over the middle, scoring from 19 yards out. Boswell’s extra point cut Cincinnati’s lead to 20-17.
The Steelers forced the Bengals into a quick third down, but then gave up a 37-yard bomb over the top to Iosivas from Flacco. Two plays later, Flacco found Chase for 10 yards, putting the Bengals inside the Steelers’ 10-yard line. On 3rd and goal, Flacco was able to find Noah Fant open in the middle of the end zone for a touchdown. The extra point gave Cincinnati a 27-17 lead.
The Steelers did have an answer for the Bengals, though. On two quick plays, one being a 36-yard run from Warren and the second a 19-yard catch and run for Freiermuth, the Steelers found their way into the red zone. A few plays later, Rodgers found Washington in the end zone from two yards out. Boswell’s extra point trimmed the lead to 27-24 with 11:03 remaining.
Unfortunately, the Steelers’ defense continued to not do much of anything. A 12-yard run from Brown, as well as completions of 25 and 14 yards put the Bengals in the red zone yet again. Fortunately, the coverage started to pick up and the Steelers forced some incompletions to force a field goal. McPherson made his 45-yard attempt to make it a 30-24 ballgame with 6:58 remaining.
The Steelers couldn’t get anything going on their next drive. Ending up at 4th and 4 just inside their own half, Mike Tomlin elected to punt. The Bengals got the ball back with 5:25 left in the game. Flacco would quickly get a first down with his legs, but T.J. Watt came up with a sack moments later to force the Bengals into 3rd and 18. They ran for one yard and had to punt.
The Steelers had about three minutes to work with, and Broderick Jones was called for a questionable holding penalty, putting the Steelers in 2nd and 20. Then, Rodgers answered by throwing an absolute missile to Pat Freiermuth, catching and running for a 68-yard touchdown. Boswell’s extra point put Pittsburgh back in front, 31-30 with 2:21 remaining.
The defense needed a stop, and they didn’t start well. They quickly allowed a 15-yard completion to Chase, and Flacco found Higgins for 28 yards to put the Bengals at the Steelers’ 7-yard line. The Steelers called their timeouts, but the Bengals were still able to run the clock down to 11 seconds. McPherson made the 36-yard kick to give the Bengals a 33-31 lead. The Steelers did get the ball back with seven seconds left and moved to their own 40-yard line with three seconds left. Rodgers tried a Hail Mary, but it was knocked down to end the game.
After their short week, the Steelers have a mini bye as they prepare to face the Green Bay Packers Oct. 26 in Pittsburgh.
