Bengals’ Playoff Drought Goes on With 18-16 Loss to Steelers

Ross Cockrell recovered and Roethlisberger looked over.

With Roethlisberger on the sideline, the Bengals were able to lead a comeback scoring 16 straight points following the Steelers quarterback injury. He went into the locker room and afterward had his right shoulder in a sling. “Ben and I have been together for nine years”. We need to have each other’s back during this process and that’s the best way to take the biggest step into next year to being the best team we can possibly be.

Cincinnati Bengals’ Vontaze Burfict (55) runs into Pittsburgh Steelers’ Antonio Brown (84) during the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game Sunday, Jan. 10, 2016, in Cincinnati.

Roethlisberger, who had been injured on a sack by Burfict, couldn’t throw down the field.

“(Offensive coordinator Todd Haley) called one deep one in there”, said Roethlisberger.

And Brown’s performance last night obviously had a huge part in allowing Pittsburgh to advance back to the divisional round of the playoffs for the first time since 2010. This young guy was everywhere on the field, and at times, looked like he was going at a different speed than everyone else. Bedlam ensued, and the Bengals imploded. Unable to throw with any authority, he still managed to get the Steelers near midfield with 22 seconds to go when he threw high to Antonio Brown in Cincinnati territory. The hit drew a flag for a personal foul penalty, placing the Steelers in field goal range. Boswell drilled his fourth field goal of the game to give the Steelers their first playoff win since the 2010 AFC Championship Game.

One concern for the Broncos in their rematch with the Steelers is each year the Super Bowl champion has one game in its playoff journey that it easily could have lost. Make sure to watch the final 30 seconds of the clip while you still can. “He’s just, uh, a little extra”.

@ Where does this rank among Steelers’ playoff wins?

All of Cincinnati’s scoring came in the fourth quarter, after the home team had fallen behind, 15-0.

Linebacker Jarvis Jones, who has had a relatively quiet season when it comes to big plays, made the biggest defensive play of the game when he hit McCarron’s arm and jarred the ball loose just before the quarterback tried to cut loose with a pass. Steelers defensive end Cam Thomas scooped it up. This was something Tomlin preached to his team all week, and was the main reason they won the game. “And to do it that way, well, it was pretty special”.

Halfbacks Fitzgerald Toussaint (38 yards) and Jordan Todman (35) were reasonably successful for the Steelers in the first half.

Despite the injury, Roethlisberger returned for the final series and led the Steelers on their improbable winning field goal drive, completing 5 of 8 passes for 40 yards.

“We wanted to come in and dominate”, Chiefs safety Eric Berry said. “Not based on his resume, but what we see day-to-day”.

The Patriots lost running backs Dion Lewis and LeGarrette Blount for the season and star wideout Julian Edelman missed the last seven games.