Bengals nearly choked playoff hopes away on muffed punt return against Steelers

The Cincinnati Bengals kept their playoff hopes alive with a narrow 19-17 victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers, though it was a much more nauseating game to sit through than that final score would let on. The whole game was basically a microcosm of the entire 2024 season for Cincinnati. Joe Burrow was great once again, as he all but solidified his place at the top of the touchdown pass leaderboard by throwing his 43rd of the season. However, thanks to poor efficiency, turnovers, and more Zac Taylor blunders, the Bengals managed to nearly snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. With the score sitting at 19-14 late in the game after forcing another Steelers punt, it looked like the Bengals had the game locked up. All special teamer D.J .Ivey had to do was let the ball bounce on the ground so that the Bengals could turn it over to Burrow to run out the clock. Instead, the Bengals found themselves on the wrong side of a catastrophic blunder that could have cost them the game. The ball bounced off Ivey's foot,