The Cincinnati Bengals came to town to face the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field. In a rivalry game of this magnitude, all stats go out the window and the game is unpredictable.
The Pittsburgh Steelers entered the week coming of their best win of the season. They went into Arrowhead Stadium and came out with a win over previously undefeated Kansas city.
The win gave the Steelers much-needed momentum headed into Bengals week. The game would see two of the top ranked defenses in the league so far this season.
Pittsburgh won the toss and took the ball. They promptly marched down the field to score on the opening drive capped by a touchdown pass to Antonio Brown.
The Bengals would soon tie it on a Brandon Lafell touchdown pass from Andy Dalton. The tie did not last long as Big Ben came back to throw a 31 yard touchdown to JuJu Smith-Schuster.
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The Bengals would tie it up one more time on a long drive ending with a touchdown to Tyler Kroft. After that, the game went well into Pittsburgh’s favor.
Pittsburgh took a 20-14 lead into the half before stopping Cincinnati on the opening second half drive. Pittsburgh then took the ball downfield but stalled for a field goal by Chris Boswell.
The Bengals next possession saw Dalton intercepted by Joe Haden on a tipped pass to A.J. Green. Another drive stalled and Pittsburgh settled for another field goal to make it 26-14.
Pittsburgh had another interception of Dalton’s by William Gay but again stalled. They attempted to go for it on fourth down and fell inches short.
The Steelers really got a momentum boost on a late fourth quarter drive that saw Bud Dupree explode and disrupt two plays resulting in two sacks, one by him and one by Tyson Alualu.
The biggest play of the game came on a fake punt by Pittsburgh. With no one covering Darrius Heyward-Bey, Robert Golden took a direct snap and sailed a completion to him for 44 yards and a first down.
Le’Veon Bell finished the day with 192 total yards, 58 receiving and 134 rushing. He had another stellar game which propelled Pittsburgh to their fifth win on the season.
Ben Roethlisberger had another good game this week. While he is clearly no longer the Ben of old, he still tossed for 224 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
The defense played spectacular after the early onslaught of 14 points from Cincinnati and held them there the rest of the game. The last 15 points of the game came via the leg of Boswell.
They held Dalton to yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. The Steelers pass defense continues to develop into one of the best in the league.
The Steelers continue to morph their team into what everyone expected this season. With a slow start, they have now two solid wins in as many weeks.
The defense is one of the best in the league and the offense is starting to click on all cylinders. Look for both to get even better when Stephon Tuitt and Marcus Gilbert return from their injuries.
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The Pittsburgh Steelers will head into Detroit next week looking to finish strong before their Week 9 bye. Pittsburgh moves to number one in the AFC at the moment pending Sunday Night Football’s result with New England facing Atlanta.