The Bengals hurt themselves by squandering opportunities on their first two possessions. On their opening drive, Chris Henry dropped what would have been a touchdown pass, and Shayne Graham missed a 30-yard field goal. On their next drive, the Bengals were forced to settle for a field goal after their drive stalled on Pittsburgh's 8-yard line. Instead of being ahead 14-0, or at least 10-0, the Bengals led by just 3-0. And the Steelers took the lead for good in the second quarter, after Roethlisberger connected with Heath Miller on a 2-yard touchdown pass.
"You can't leave points off the board like that, especially against a team that's going to kill you on the run," Palmer said.
"They did a good job making adjustments at halftime and slowing us down."
The Bengals have not made the playoffs since 1990, but Bengals coach Marvin Lewis refused to believe his team's early-season momentum would be derailed. Cincinnati will get another chance against the Steelers on Dec. 4 in Pittsburgh.
"We have to learn from this, and we will," said Lewis, whose team will play host to Green Bay on Sunday. "I'm not worried at all. There's no psychological stigma. We'll put this behind us."
RSS