PITTSBURGH — The Bengals did their job. Now, it’s time to wait.
Joe Burrow completed 34-of-46 passes for 277 yards and a touchdown as the Bengals held on for a 19-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers before 65,631 at a frigid Acrisure Stadium.
The win keeps the Bengals alive for the third and final wild card spot in the AFC. The Bengals must now hope the Jets beat the Dolphins at home
and the Chiefs beat the Broncos Sunday in Denver. Both games are in the late 4:25 p.m. ET window.
The Bengals defense had to hold the Steelers after DJ Ivey couldn’t get his foot out of the way of a bouncing punt, giving the Steelers the ball at the Cincinnati 38 with 5:11 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Steelers converted a field goal to make it 19-17 and got the ball back one more time but couldn’t get into field goal range as the defense held.
Trey Hendrickson finished with 3.5 sacks in the game and totaled 17.5 sacks for the season, giving him the lead heading into the final day of the NFL season. No Bengal has ever led the NFL in sacks in a single season. Myles Garrett finished with no sacks Saturday and 14 for the season. Danielle Hunter of Houston has 12 sacks heading into their finale Sunday with Tennessee.
“Win and in. That was our approach today. That’s all we can control,” Taylor said. “Win the game, as if this was to get us in the playoffs, and then tomorrow is going to be out of our control.”
In the Dec. 1 game at Paycor, the Steelers amassed 520 total net yards and 412 yards passing from Russell Wilson. Saturday night, the Steelers had 91 yards through three quarters.
Chase Brown tested his sprained right ankle in warmups before the game with strength and conditioning coach Joey Boese and head trainer Matt Summers. But Brown was held out and declared inactive, along with receiver Jermaine Burton, who did not make the trip with the team to Pittsburgh on the decision of Zac Taylor.
Cade York redeemed himself from last Saturday’s overtime miss to go 4-for-4 on field goals, with his only misstep a squib kick on a kickoff that gave the Steelers great field position at their 40.
On a bitterly cold night, the Bengals came out red-hot with a nine-play, 75-yard march down the field. Burrow found Ja’Marr Chase on an inslant for a 12-yard touchdown just five minutes, 11 seconds into the game. Burrow was 6-for-6 for 65 yards on the drive. The Chase touchdown gave him 17 on the season, matching Carl Pickens’ single-season franchise mark set in 1995.
On the ensuing kickoff, York squibbed the kickoff, a no-no with the new kickoff rules. As a result, the Steelers got the ball at their 40. But in a sign of things to come, the Bengals defense held to a three-and-out and got the ball right back.
The Bengals made it 10-0 on the next drive on a 37-yard field goal York field goal.
The Steelers only answer was 13-play, 73-yard drive capped off by a 1-yard touchdown run by Najee Harris. The drive was aided by four third-down conversions, including a Mike Williams 25-yard sideline grab over Josh Newton and two pass interference calls on Cam Taylor-Britt. The second Taylor-Britt occurred in the end zone.
Not having Chase Brown began to show in the second quarter. The pass-happy Bengals offense began to sputter with three false starts, dropped passes and a costly interception thrown by Burrow at the Steelers 17.
After Shaka Heyward forced a fumble on a punt return by Calvin Austin III, Akeem Davis-Gaither recovered at the Pittsburgh 33. But Burrow threw a pass behind Chase and it was broken up by Patrick Queen and picked off by Beanie Bishop Jr. at the Pittsburgh 17. But several plays later, after Pittsburgh thought they had a first down the ball was re-spotted short at the Steelers 37.
Mike Tomlin decided to go for it on fourth-and-1 and Jaylen Warren was stopped for no gain, giving the Bengals a gift possession with 48 seconds left before the half. The Bengals capitalized on a 27-yard York field goal and a 13-7 halftime lead.
After Joe Burrow was sacked and took a shot to the ground late in the third quarter at the Steelers 21, he left the field with turf in his face and ran to the sideline after being tended to on the ground. He was checked in the medical tent and returned without missing a snap.
He then directed a 15-play, 83-yard drive that ended in York’s fourth field goal of the night from 27 yards, putting the Bengals up, 19-7. The drive featured a spectacular 25-yard sideline grab by Ja’Marr Chase as Burrow was being slammed to the ground again.
Russell Wilson’s 19-yard out pass to Pat Freiermuth beat Jordan Battle badly and resulted in a touchdown with 8:07 left in the fourth quarter, cutting Cincinnati’s lead to 19-14.
The Bengals finished the game without Tee Higgins, who tweaked his left ankle while Cody Ford was replaced at right tackle by Amarius Mims after Ford suffered a chest injury. Ford returned in the fourth quarter.
