Bengals stay alive for playoffs with win over Steelers, whose late-season slide continues

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) throws the ball in the second quarter of his team’s win over the Steelers. (Photo by Shelley Lipton/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The Pittsburgh Steelers are lucky they won 10 games early. They might be stuck on 10 wins going into the offseason.

The Steelers have fallen apart. Another horrendous performance, in which the offense was mostly inept. The Steelers lost 19-17 to the Cincinnati Bengals, who kept their playoff hopes alive. For the Steelers, it was the fourth straight game in which they never even held a lead. The Steelers had a shot at the end to win the game on a field goal, but their drive stalled before they hit midfield and the Bengals held on when Pat Freiermuth dropped a fourth-down pass. That sums up the past month for the Steelers.

The Bengals needed to win, then wait until Sunday for help. They also needed the Kansas City Chiefs to beat the Denver Broncos and New York Jets to beat the Miami Dolphins (or a tie game) to get the wild-card spot.

The Steelers are in the playoffs. But they’re going to go face the Baltimore Ravens next week if the Los Angeles Chargers win on Sunday. The Steelers will face the Houston Texans if the Chargers lose to the Las Vegas Raiders.

It might not matter who the Steelers play. They don’t look like they can beat any playoff-level opponent lately.

Steelers have a rough 1st half

The Steelers had lost three in a row and they started slow. Joe Burrow had an easy drive downfield to start the game. The Steelers put cornerback Cory Trice Jr., replacing inactive Donte Jackson and making his first career start in his sixth NFL game, on Ja’Marr Chase with no help. Chase beat him easily for a 12-yard touchdown. It was Chase’s 17th touchdown of the season. Burrow completed all six of his passes on the drive. He had 12 straight completions to start the game, a streak that was snapped on a dropped pass.

After Chase’s touchdown the Steelers had a quick three-and-out that continued a rough…

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Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2025-01-05 04:10:00

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