Cincy takes down Steelers 19-17.
PITTSBURGH – January 4, 2025 – Brendon D. Miller
Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and Trey Hendrickson completed NFL Leading seasons, but it may not be enough for the Bengals to make the playoffs, but Who Dey did all they could on Saturday Night defeating the reeling Steelers 19-17. Now all eyes turn Sunday where the Bengals needs a Miami loss to the Jets, and a Broncos loss to the Chiefs, to get the number seven seed and head to Buffalo next week.
The Bengals completed their five game run to keep hopes alive by winning out after the Steelers defeated the Bengals on December 1 in Cincinnati. Burrow ended the season with 4,918 yards and 43 touchdowns. Chase set franchise record with 127 catches for 1708 yards and 17 touchdowns. Hendrickson was unstoppable again ending the season with 17.5 sacks. All stats lead the NFL on the season.
First Quarter
The Bengals had it going in the first half. The big three of Burrow, Chase, and Hendrickson made their presence felt. Cincy took the opening kickoff and Burrow dissected the Steelers secondary as he went six for six and hit Chase from nine yards for his 17th touchdown on the season, tying the franchise record.
On the Steelers’ first drive Hendrickson got his 15th sack and again in that stat.
The Bengals offense managed to get a field goal on their next drive. Making it to the Pittsburgh 30 before linebacker Patrick Queen ran free at Burrow on a third-down sack.
Second Quarter
Pittsburgh found the end zone on their first drive of the second quarter. It was aided by a picture-perfect tiptoe catch to Mike Williams. They were then aided by two defensive pass interference calls on Cam Taylor-Britt. The first was legitimate, but the second in the end zone was a weak call as tight end Darnell Washington was hand-fighting with the defensive back on third-and-goal. That gave them the ball at the one where Najee Harris was able to get over the goal line to make it 10-7.
After that, it was all defense on both sides. The Steelers adjusted to Burrow getting the ball out quick, and the offensive line started to get manhandled after that, making life hard for Burrow in the pocket without the existence of a running game.
Both sides also traded turnovers as Cincinnati forced a fumble on a punt return, but then Burrow threw a pass slightly behind, which got tipped into an interception. However, the Steelers turned the ball over on their own 37-yard line with under a minute left after failing to pick up a fourth-and-inches play.
That led to a Cade York Field goal after Chase had a pass go through his hands on third down with 17 seconds left in the half, which gave them a 13-7 lead going into halftime.
Third Quarter
The Bengals defense recorded yet another 3-and-out to start the second half. That set up another productive drive that ended in disaster for the offense. Burrow was conducting a highly efficient drive with short and medium passes mixed with some production from running back Khalil Herbert.
However, it ended with a sack deep in Pittsburgh territory that had Burrow slow to get up after being driven into the ground by two defenders. Fortunately, he was able to return the next drive, and York added another field goal to make it a two-score game.
Fourth Quarter
Cincinnati’s offense finished yet another drive off with a field goal in the red zone. Chase had an amazing toe tap catch to help get them in range, but most importantly, the drive killed over eight minutes of the clock. A touchdown would have helped nail the game shut, though.
Wilson finally caught fire, though, on the next drive. He had a 12-yard run on a 3rd-and-long after mishandling the snap. Then he was able to find tight end Pat Freiermuth all by himself on the sideline after the safety covering him got caught having to go over a post route to get to him. It was a 19-yard strike that made it 19-14 and a strong reminder of why you can’t let anyone hang around in the NFL.
Both teams had a 3-and-out, but a special teams disaster struck for Cincinnati. A short punt hit DJ Ivey in the toe. Pittsburgh was able to recover at Cincinnati’s 38-yard line. Another Hendrickson sack helped put them behind the sticks and forced them to settle for a field goal to make it just a two-point lead for the Bengals with 2:30 remaining in the game.
The offense had a chance to run the clock, but they went 3-and-out with Burrow getting sacked trying to escape the pressure on third down.
It looked like the Steelers had a promising chance to get into field goal range, but then Wilson scrambled for a couple of yards going down in bounds rather than preserving time by throwing it away, and then he took a sack the very next play.
He and George Pickens (who had been having a rough night with drops) couldn’t get on the same page despite him being open down field. It looked like Pickens couldn’t locate the ball almost. Wilson then threw an incompletion on fourth down the next play to seal the win for the Bengals.
