Steelers Crush Bengals With New Heroes Emerging

A chunk play by Kenneth Gainwell and a roughing the passer on Joseph Ossai put the Steelers on their last set of downs. Rodgers threw three straight incompletions before the Steelers elected to kick a field goal, and the Steelers took a 10-6 lead going into the half. Notably, Rodgers was seen with a bloody hand as the half ended, and his status going into the second half was unclear.

Out of halftime, the Bengals received the opening kickoff. The first play of the drive was a 35-yard rush by Brown, and the Bengals offense got a new set of downs. The ensuing set of downs was wholly unsuccessful for the Bengals, as they were unable to get a first down. Due to the Brown run, they were given good field position for a kick, and McPherson made a 43 yard field goal to make it 10-9 Steelers.

The next Steelers drive saw Mason Rudolph take the field for the Steelers at quarterback, as he entered for the injured Rodgers. The first Rudolph drive was set to be interesting, as the tone for the rest of the game would be set by how Rudolph played. On the first set of downs, two rushes and a pass got the Steelers ten yards and a new set of downs.

On third down, Rudolph found wide receiver Roman Wilson for a 17 yard catch, which kept the drive alive and moved the Steelers into Cincinnati territory. A short run, an incompletion and an offensive pass interference put the Steelers at 3rd and 17 back on their side of the field. Then, Rudolph found Washington, who extended over the line to gain to keep the drive going. Three medium distance gains followed by a run for no gain and an incompletion set up Boswell, who made a 30-yard field goal to make it 13-9.

The Bengals took the field once again, and Flacco starting moving the ball down the field. This drive contained a tussle, as Jalen Ramsey was ejected for punching top wideout Ja'Marr Chase, forcing the Steelers to shift all their defensive players around.

Flacco found Fant for a 15-yard gain on third down to keep the drive past the first set of downs, then found Higgins for another 13 yards. On third and 9, Flacco was looking for Higgins, but left the ball in the air too long. Kyle Dugger jumped on the pass, intercepting it at the Steelers' 26 and taking it all the way to the end zone for a touchdown. After a Boswell PAT, the Steelers took a 20-9 lead.

The Bengals took the ball back, with the fourth quarter beginning. The Bengals were able to establish some offense, running twelve plays for 47 yards. Flacco was able to get the team into field goal range, and McPherson made a 48 yard field goal to make it 20-12 with 9:41 to play.

Utter Domination Down The Stretch

The Steelers took the field on the following drive with the goal being to drain the clock as much as possible while also scoring. The Steelers did just that, moving the ball down the field with a combination of Kenneth Gainwell rushes and Rudolph connecting with receivers like Washington and Metcalf. Then, with five minutes to play, Rudolph found Gainwell for a pass of 28 yards, setting up first and goal.

The ball was given to Gainwell on first down for a small gain before Rudolph passed it to Gainwell on the outside, and Gainwell took it into the endzone to make it 27-12 after a good PAT by Boswell.

On the next drive, Flacco and the Bengals took the field needing quick points. He quickly passed to Fant, who fumbled the football off a force by Brandin Echols. James Pierre picked the football up, taking it back 33 yards and flipping into the endzone for a touchdown. The Steelers extended their lead further, taking a 34-12 lead.

The final Bengals drive saw them move down the field relatively easily, and they were left with a fourth down with 10 seconds to go. Flacco threw it to James Pierre, but he was out of bounds. The Steelers took over on downs and ended the game.

The Steelers moved to 6-4 on the season, and will take on Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears next week.