Steelers saved by Bengals’ penalties, Boswell field goal

After picking up a first down at Cincinnati’s 29, the Steelers lost 15 when guard Ramon Foster was penalized for a personal foul, back to the 44.

The Pittsburgh Steelers beat bitter rivals the Cincinnati Bengals in a bone-jarring, ill-tempered 18-16 last second victory in their AFC wild card playoff game on Saturday. “Everybody who played and stepped up”.

The Steelers advance to take on the Denver Broncos next Sunday, and couldn’t wait to get out of Cincinnati.

As a result, the Patriots will play the No. 5 seed Chiefs, 30-0 winners over the Texans, next Saturday at Gillette.

After Martavis Bryant somehow clung on to a somersaulting touchdown reception, the Steelers led 15-0 heading into the final quarter, but Bengals quarterback A.J. McCarron put together a late rally.

So with less than two minutes left in the game and the Steelers down by two points, Jones threw an interception to linebacker Vontaze Burfict. They’re his men. And they played like clownish, unsafe buffoons for their coach, who showed he had no control over the team he’s been with for over 13 years.

Burfict hit a defenseless Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown.

Instead they must face the fact that for the fifth year in a row they will exit the playoffs in the first round and they only have themselves to blame.

Holding a 16-15 lead, the Bengals had the Steelers stopped Saturday and were poised to end a 25-year playoff drought. During a run by Jordan Todman where he ran into the Steelers sidelines and was followed by Bengals safety Reggie Nelson. He has been injured multiple times this season, missing four games with a sprained MCL and missing a week of practice with a bone bruise on his foot.

Maybe a bigger blow to the Bengals’ defense was a quad injury to top cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick, who was listed as questionable to return. He also tweeted his disagreement with his penalty, saying a Steelers coach came on the field to trash talk and it was “Not even a head coach”. Unable to pass with any real authority, he still managed to get the Steelers near midfield with 22 seconds to go before the two personal fouls.

Bengals running back Giovani Bernard left with a concussion after he appeared to be knocked out in a collision with linebacker Ryan Shazier.

Underscoring the hard feelings between the fan bases, some spectators cheered when the Steelers quarterback was carted to the locker room.

The Bengals finally found the end zone on the ensuing possession, but it took a 42-yard pass interference penalty to get them to the 1-yard line, from where Hill punched it in. That tackle led to player confrontations all over the field, incited the crowd and, after video review, gave Pittsburgh the ball on a fumble, probably costing Cincinnati a field goal.

The game’s first score was set up by a McCarron turnover.

It all began on the Bengals’ first drive of the fourth quarter.

Three field goals by Pittsburgh accounted for all the offense in the first half.