The unyielding defense of the Pittsburgh Steelers was again responsible to give them the victory after a night of slip ups and plenty of missed chances.
The ball was stripped away from Jordan Shipley by Ryan Clark and James Harrison near the 5 yard line on the final play of Cincinnati. Thereby the Steelers preserved their lead of 27 – 21 and picked up a win on Monday night. This win again left the AFC North in a familiar situation.
The top spot is shared by the Steelers (6 – 2) with Baltimore. The loss pushed the Bengals to the last position. This is their fifth consecutive loss for the defending champions and is one completion short.
The Steelers should thank their defenders for an excellent game in which they held their ground in spite of tough opposition. The late rally by the Bengals was also nullified greatly by the defenders. Even, the words of Ben Roethlisberger reflect this feeling who talked about the strong defense of the Steelers. Ben was 17 of 27 for 163 yards and it was his interception that helped the Bengals rally in the end.
The interception was thrown by Ben and this set up the second touchdown catch by Terell Owens. The Bengals also had an opportunity to clinch the tie but they failed to capitalize on it. This happened when Jeff Reed missed an attempt on goal from a range of 46 yards. This took place with only 3 minutes and 59 seconds left in the clock and this was certainly a blunder for the Bengals for which they had to pay the price with the loss.
Image Credit: