Steelers Tame Bengals, Dominance in "the Jungle" Continues

Ben Roethlisberger continues their dominance over Cincinnati as Pittsburgh wins a thriller in Cincinnati 28-21. The Steelers win was not only heartbreaking for the Bengals and their fans, but it was a huge statement sent to the NFL.

The Steelers went into this game knowing it would be a dog fight. The fireworks happened in the second half. James Conner had a 25 yard run that ended up being downed at the 1 yard line. Some questioned Tomlin for not challenging because many believed Conner crossed the goal line. They had to settle for 3 points. The Steelers shutout the Bengals in the third quarter which was very helpful for an offense who could not get into the endzone. In the fourth quarter, the Steelers were unstoppable offensively as they easily drove down the field. The Steelers got into the red zone again, but the struggles continued and they had to settle for 3 points. The Bengals scored with less than two minutes left in the game to take the lead 21-20. Did they score too early? The Steelers offense had the ball back with under 1:30 left to play with three time outs. Big Ben did what Big Ben does and drove down the field with Antonio Brown scoring the game winning touchdown on a questionable pick play.

With the Bengals loss, Ben Roethlisberger is now 13-2 at Paul Brown Stadium. The Steelers are 15-3 overall against the Bengals since 2010. They currently hold a seven game win streak. Ben went 32-46, 369 yards, and 1 touchdown. James Conner had 19 carries for 111 yards on the ground. He was bullying the Bengals by breaking tackles for extra yardage all game. Juju lead the receivers, 7 catches for 111 yards. Antonio Brown had 5 catches for 105 yards and a touchdown. The tight ends were incredibly busy. Vance McDonald had 7 catches for 68 yards, Jesse James had 5 catches for 26, and Xavier Grimble had 2 catches for 35. The Steelers were 8-14 on 3rd down. Defensively, the Steelers held the Bengals to under 300 total yards. The Bengals could not get the ground game going, they had 62 rushing yards. The key to the Steelers success was their ability to get yards after catch/contact. The Bengals were not tackling properly and it came back to bite them in the end.

The Bengals broke down once again. That final drive the Steelers had was a dumpster fire attempt by the Bengals to stop the Steelers. The Steelers only used 1 of their 3 timeouts. On 3rd and 10, the Bengals had a costly holding penalty that gave the Steelers a 1st down. The next play the Bengals left Juju Smith-Schuster wide open and brought him down inside field goal range. The final play of the drive, the Bengals called an all out blitz leaving no zone coverage in the middle of the field and Antonio Brown made the catch and was off the the races. This play was very controversial for the Bengals.

The play could have been called an illegal pick because it was that close to being illegal. There are two reasons why it was legal. Keep in mind, these calls are judgement calls by the official. I can see both sides of the issue, however the officials did get the call right for these reasons. The first reason, the defensive back (DB) initiated contact first. According to operations.nfl.com, A DB can legally contact a receiver within the first 5 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. Once contact is initiated, the receiver can fight back to try and break free. The second reason, according to the NFL Rule Book under Rule 8: Section 5: Article 4: a receiver can block no more than one yard pass the line of scrimmage on a pick play. If you watch closely, (refer to video above at 10:04) Justin Hunter's left arm is not extended when Ben still has possession of the football. He had no intention of blocking. You can make an argument that he was trying to run a route. Once Antonio Brown has the ball he proceeds to block. That is why I believe the officials didn't throw the flag because of Justin Hunter's body language. Justin Hunter did a fantastic job of selling it. Dre Kirkpatrick isn't convinced.

Dre Kirkpatrick, DB of the Bengals, believes they are better than the Steelers. He mentioned it in a post-game interview. It may be the emotions present, but sorry Dre, the Steelers are better than you. The Steelers struggled to get into the endzone when they were in the redzone, but the Bengals defense completely fell apart at the end. He had a chance to prove how good the Bengals were and he failed. On paper and in the final minute of the game they outworked the Bengals.

The Steelers made things complicated for the AFC North. The Browns were destroyed by the Chargers and the Ravens stayed on course with a win over the Titans, who are still a question mark. The Steelers have vastly improved since week 1 and it looks like the moment is finally building in the Steel City. This win was huge for the Steelers going into their bye week. Will their bye week weaken or strengthen their momentum going forward? We will find out in two weeks.