The Pittsburgh Steelers moved level with Baltimore at the top of the AFC North after resisting a fierce fightback from their divisional rivals Cincinnati to win 27-21 on Monday night.
The Steelers were 20 points up at 27-7 before the Bengals battled back with two fourth-quarter touchdowns.
A missed field goal from Jeff Reed gave the Bengals possession with 3 minutes, 25 seconds remaining on the clock and Carson Palmer drove to the 12-yard line before James Harrison’s tackle stripped Jordan Shipley to save the game.
Photo: AFP
The Steelers, who lost at New Orleans last week, have never given up a 20-point lead in franchise history and despite the scare, coach Mike Tomlin said his team deserved victory.
“I like the way our team fought, we made some mistakes along the way, but we did enough to win the game,” he told reporters.
Bengals receiver Terrell Owens had a productive night with 141 yards and two touchdowns on 10 receptions.
The Steelers had grabbed control of the game from the outset thanks to a Cincinnati fumble on the kick-off return, which Pittsburgh turned into a one-yard touchdown run for Rashard Mendenhall.
A field goal from Reed made it 10-0 and although Owens converted on a 19-yard pass from Palmer to keep Cincinnati in the game, the Steelers responded with a score from a familiar combination — quarterback Ben Roethlisberger finding Hines Ward with an eight-yard pass.
The Steelers looked to have the game in the bag when, off a trick-play, receiver Antwaan Randal El threw a looping 39-yard touchdown pass to Mike Wallace, who ended the game with 110 yards on five catches.
Scores from Owens and Cedric Benson gave the Bengals (2-6) a fighting chance, but in the end they fell to their fifth straight loss.
Cincinnati’s playoff hopes now look very slim as they sit at the bottom of the division needing a near perfect run-in to the season to have any chance.
“We gave ourselves chance at the end to win the ball game and if you look at the last four games it has [just] been a play here or there,” Owens said.
Fellow receiver Chad -Ochocinco, who was restricted to just one catch in the game, said the team had paid the price for their poor opening to the game.
“We started the game too slow. We were able to come back near the end, had a really good fourth quarter and we just have to keep plugging away,” Ochocinco said.
Pittsburgh and the Ravens are both on 6-2 in the North Division with Baltimore facing a tough test against Atlanta tomorrow night.
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