Useful information
Prime News delivers timely, accurate news and insights on global events, politics, business, and technology
The Cincinnati Bengals scored a go-ahead field goal with seven seconds left in the game to defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers 33-31. With the victory, Cincy ended its four-game losing streak.
Quarterback Joe Flacco looked great in his second start with the Bengals, completing 31 of 47 passes for 342 yards and three touchdowns. Meanwhile, wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase finished the game with a franchise-record 16 receptions for 161 yards and a touchdown.
On the first series of the game, Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw a beautiful rainbow pass to wide receiver DK Metcalf on third-and-11 for a 39-yard pick to drive deep into enemy territory. On his next third down, Rodgers hit tight end Jonnu Smith for a ten-yard touchdown pass to go up 7-0. That was Smith’s first touchdown reception since Week One.
From there, the score dwindled until the second quarter, when the Steelers finally returned to the red zone. However, they were called for offensive holding, which ended up killing the drive and leading to a 41-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead. Aaron Rodgers was six of six on that possession with 42 passing yards and six rushing yards.
Cincy had a good response. Running back Chase Brown cut down the field for a 27-yard run, the Bengals’ longest run of the season, to reach the Pittsburgh side of the field. Facing a third-and-10, quarterback Joe Flacco connected with receiver Ja’Marr Chase for 15 yards and a first down. Soon, Cincinnati reached the red zone, where Chase caught an eight-yard touchdown pass to cut the Steelers’ lead to 10-7. In his last three games, Chase has four touchdown receptions.
On the first play of Pittsburgh’s next drive, Aaron Rodgers was intercepted and the Bengals took control at their own 24-yard line with 4:25 left in the second quarter. That was Rodgers’ first INT in four weeks.
Chase Brown continued to build momentum with a 37-yard pickup on the ground just after the interception to move the ball to the Pittsburgh 34-yard line. Three plays later, wide receiver Tee Higgins caught and ran 29 yards into the end zone for a 14-10 Cincinnati lead. The Bengals, who averaged 56.7 rushing yards per game coming into this matchup, had 97 rushing yards in the first half of this contest.
Pittsburgh got the ball back with 2:46 left in the half. As DK Metcalf attempted to catch a pass at the Cincy 30-yard line, Bengals cornerback DJ Turner snatched the ball from him for an interception with 43 seconds left in the quarter.
After consecutive completions for a total of 21 yards, a 12-yard defensive pass interference penalty moved the ball to the Steelers 37. Thanks to a seven-yard reception by tight end Noah Fant, Cincy kicked a 49-yard field goal for a 17-10 halftime lead.
All night, the Steelers had no answer for Ja’Marr Chase, and that was demonstrated on the first series of the second half when he made four receptions for 38 yards. That ultimately resulted in a 23-yard field goal to extend Cincy’s lead to 20-10.
Pittsburgh responded by relying on the running game. They ran the ball four straight times for 37 yards to get to the Cincy 24. A little later, Aaron Rodgers hit tight end Pat Friermuth for a 19-yard touchdown pass on a third-and-goal to close the gap to 20-17. This was Rodgers’ fourth game of the season with multiple touchdown passes.
Joe Flacco hit receiver Andrei Iosiva on a 37-yard pass on Cincy’s next possession. That ultimately set up a touchdown reception by Noah Fant on the first play of the fourth quarter to put the Bengals up 27-17.
It was a fantastic night for Steelers running back Jaylen Warren, who had 127 rushing yards and 31 receiving yards. His 36-yard run set up a touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers to make the score 27-24 with 11:03 left in the game. In this contest, Rodgers passed former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to move into fifth place all-time on the NFL’s passing yards list.
Chase Brown also surpassed the hundred-yard mark with 108 rushing yards, his first 100-yard game of the season. His 19 yards rushing allowed the Bengals to kick a field goal to bring the score to 30-24 with 6:58 left in the fourth quarter.
The Pittsburgh offense later took the field at its own 42-yard line with 2:46 left in the fourth quarter. On a second-and-20, Aaron Rodgers avoided a defender and hit Pat Freiermuth for a 68-yard touchdown to retake the lead at 31-30 with 2:21 left. This was just Freiermuth’s second career game with multiple touchdown receptions.
On the next drive, Joe Flacco found Ja’Marr Chase for a 15-yard gain to bring this one to the two-minute warning. Coming off that break, Ja’Marr Chase had an 18-yard catch and run to reach the Pittsburgh side of the field. Tee Higgins then made a 28-yard catch to get to the Pittsburgh seven with 1:37 left. That allowed Cincy to run out the clock and kick a go-ahead field goal with just seven ticks left on the clock.
Although Aaron Rodgers managed to throw the ball into the end zone as time expired in a last-ditch attempt to win the game, his pass was rejected. Despite the failed effort, Rodgers threw for 249 yards and four touchdowns.
After this game, the Steelers fell to 4-2 on the season. This was Pittsburgh’s first loss since Week Two.
*Author’s Note: All information and statistics are tracked in real time and provided by the game’s broadcaster, NFL.com and ESPN.com*
