Cincinnati turnover, penalties loom large in Pittsburgh’s winning drive

Cementing his legacy as one of the toughest QB’s in National Football League history, Steelers QB, Ben Roethlisberger returned after suffering an undisclosed shoulder injury to lead the Steelers to an 18-16 win while sending the Bengals to what may be the low moment in franchise history.

Saturday marked only the second time Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, bitter AFC North rivals, have met in the postseason. Going for a 2XP and converting it would mean Cincinnati would need three scores on a night where they had yet to score once. Yes, the officials were trying to keep the game under control, but they babied the players early on.

In the dying seconds, the Steelers benefited from a pair of personal foul calls, a ferocious late hit to the head by Burfict on an incomplete pass to Antonio Brown and another 15-yard foul on cornerback Adam Jones in the ensuing melee.

And just as suddenly as it appeared, the Bengals’ resolve vanished. He picked off a pass with 1:43 left in the game that figured to finish the Steelers before a Bengals fumble breathed life into Pittsburgh.

Using a series of short passes by Roethlisberger, who injured his right shoulder on the Burfict sack that sent him to the locker room, the Steelers got the ball to their own 41-yard line, where they faced a fourth-and-3.

However, a fumble with less than two minutes remaining spared Pittsburgh’s blushes.

“Man, that guy will get his”, said Steelers safety Mike Mitchell. The two-point conversion failed.

Hill had the ball tucked in his left arm when Shazier somehow clawed it out as Cincinnati tried to bleed the clock and the Steelers recovered at the Pittsburgh 9 with 1:23 left.

Minutes later, with the Steelers backed up near their end zone, Roethlisberger was pile-driven into the turf by Burfict.

“It’s hard to put into words”, said Hill.

Duck and run: AJ McCarron is pulled down by Lawrence Timmons.

That’s when the emotions of the Bengals, inflamed throughout the hard-hitting game, boiled over in a ridiculous manner that cost them the game.

Jarvis Jones had a sack and a forced fumble, Antwon Blake had an interception and Cameron Heyward had another massive game for the Steelers defense. Rightfully so, he received a 15-yard penalty on the play and the Steelers were now in position to kick a game-winning field goal.

Quarterback Andy Dalton, sidelined this game with a right thumb injury he sustained in the teams’ December 13 meeting, wasn’t happy with Burfict’s “stupid penalties”. The Bengals lost 18-16, in a defensive battle that was plagued with penalties and sloppy plays.

With rain falling and a voracious Cincinnati home crowd roaring in the hope of a mistake, Berry calmly caught the snap for the field goal and placed it on the turf for his kicker Chris Boswell who sealed the win.

The Steelers were leading 15-0 at the end of the third quarter when the game took the first of many major turns.

Three field goals by Pittsburgh accounted for all the offense in the first half. Although, even that play was a penalty that may have been missed. Pittsburgh was able to capitalize on the unstable emotions of the Bengals and take a 15-0 lead.

In a game they either had to find a way to win or else they would be packing up their equipment until the start of OTAs next Memorial Day, the Steelers were playing with some combination of Fitzgerald Toussaint and Jordan Todman at running back instead of the planned-upon combination of Le’Veon Bell and DeAngelo Williams; they were playing with Landry Jones at quarterback instead of Ben Roethlisberger, with Cody Wallace instead of Maurkice Pouncey, and with Alejandro Villanueva instead of Kelvin Beachum.

From the perspective of the losing team, blame can be assigned and luck can be cursed, and there indeed were mistakes made by the Bengals and bounces of the ball that went against them.