Bengals shock the Steelers in OT; Take Division Lead
Five weeks ago, the Pittsburgh Steelers were running away with the AFC Central division, had an undefeated season, and were among the elite in the NFL. Then they met up with a 3-3 Cincinnati Bengals team and lost, 26-11. Since then, the Steelers have been going in one direction, while the Bengals were going another.
On Sunday, the two teams faced off each other again, but this time it was for the lead in the AFC Central. The Steelers lost 3 of their last four and were 7-3, while the Bengals won 5 of their last six and were coming into the game at 6-4. The winner would take control of the division.
To start the game, Steelers’ QB Kordell Stewart was horrible. He threw two picks on the Steelers’ first two drives, and they were down immediately 13-0. The Bengals scored on RB Corey Dillons’ 4-yard run and then QB Jeff Blake hit WR Carl Pickens on a 24-yard TD pass. Pelfrey missed the extra point on the first drive, so the Bengals held a 13-0 lead.
The Steelers usual explosive offense was held to just 82 first half yards and the Steelers trailed at halftime 16-3. The Steelers got a field goal in the third to make it 16-6, but the action picked up in the final quarter.
Jerome Bettis caught a short 4-yard pass from Stewart and blasted through for a touchdown cutting the lead to 16-13. Then the Bengals answered when Kijana Carter raced through the Steelers’ defense for a 62-yard touchdown run, 23-13. After a Steeler field goal, the Steelers tied the game on another Bettis receiving touchdown with 2:30 minutes remaining to send the game into overtime.
In the extra period, both teams squandered their first drives, but the Bengals didn’t disappoint on the next. On a third and long, Blake hit tight end Tony McGee, who broke free and ran down to the Steeler’s 2-yard line. The Bengals didn’t mess around. They sent in Doug Pelfrey, who calmly kicked the 19-yard game-winning field goal.
The Bengals are now in first place in the division tied with the Steelers with a 7-4 record, but the Bengals have the tie breaker due to winning both head-to-head matchups. Next week, the Bengals host Jacksonville, while the Steelers, now losing 4 out of the last 5, head to Philadelphia to try to right the ship.