No matter how high the stakes, how big the deficit or how late in the game, Ben Roethlisberger and his tough-to-catch playmakers always find a way to leave the Bengals wondering what just happened.
Chris Boswell on Monday kicked a field goal on the final play shortly after Antonio Brown caught a six-yard touchdown pass — taking a hit to the head while landing in the end zone — as the Pittsburgh Steelers pulled off another improbable comeback against the stunned Bengals, rallying for a 23-20 victory.
Down 17-0 early on, the Steelers (10-2) extended their best start since 2004 in a physical game with a couple frightening injuries.
Photo: Aaron Doster-USA Today
Brown’s touchdown tied it at 20-20 with 3 minutes, 51 seconds to go — safety George Iloka was penalized for hitting him in the head after the catch.
Boswell won it with 38-yard field goal, his second straight winner in the closing seconds.
Both teams know the script.
“It sort of reminded me of the playoff game — what was it, two years ago?” Steelers defensive end Cameron Heyward said. “It’s sort of the best reality TV show out there — better than [Keeping Up With] the Kardashians.”
Two years ago, the Steelers traveled to Paul Brown Stadium and pulled out an improbable 18-16 playoff win set up by Cincinnati’s fumble, and personal fouls on Vontaze Burfict and Adam “Pacman” Jones.
Boswell won that one with a 35-yard kick with 14 seconds left.
Desperate for a win to salvage their playoff hopes, the Bengals (5-7) still could not find a way to beat their Ohio River rivals, not even after getting off to the big early lead.
They have dropped six straight and nine of 10 against Pittsburgh.
“Very disappointing,” said Bengals receiver A.J. Green, who had two touchdown catches in the first half. “We had it.”
Nope. They never do, not against the Steelers.
“We’ve got a no-blink group,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. “We’ve been in this situation before, and in this stadium before.”
The hard-hitting game was full of personal fouls, penalties and injuries that could have a long-term effect, especially for the American Football Conference North leaders.
Pittsburgh lost leading tackler Ryan Shazier to a back injury in the first quarter.
The linebacker was taken off the field on a cart and taken to a hospital for evaluation.
“Ryan is one of the biggest players on this defense,” linebacker Vince Williams said. “When we need a big play, he’s one of the guys we look to. It’s going to be tough.”
Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict was carted off in the fourth quarter after JuJu Smith-Schuster leveled him with a high hit, then taunted him by walking over him.
There were four penalties for unnecessary roughness, one for unsportsmanlike conduct, one for roughing the passer and another for taunting.
The Bengals self-destructed with 13 penalties for a team-record 173 yards.
The Steelers remain tied with New England for best record in the conference. They host the Patriots on Dec. 17.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
Taiwanese badminton superstar Lee Yang broke down in tears after publicly retiring from the sport on Sunday. The two-time Olympic gold medalist held a retirement ceremony at the Taipei Arena after the final matches of the Taipei Open. Accompanied by friends, family and former badminton partners, Lee burst into tears while watching a video celebrating key moments in his professional sporting career that also featured messages from international players such as Malaysia’s Teo Ee Yi, Hong Kong’s Tang Chun-man, and Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan. “I hope that in the future when the world thinks about me, they will
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later
RSS