By: Jared Villani @JVillain10
SteelerNation.com
After enduring two tough losses the past two weeks, the Pittsburgh Steelers looked to rebound against the division rival, Cincinnati Bengals in hopes of staying at the top of the AFC North. Despite a one-sided matchup on paper, the Bengals stood their ground and forced an early turnover at the hands of Ben Roethlisberger which led to Cincinnati kicker, Austin Seibert converting a 34-yard field goal to put the first points of the game on the board. The Bengals get off to an early 3 to 0 lead over the Steelers.
The Bengals appeared to have smelled blood in the water when safety Vonn Bell delivered a big hit on JuJu Smith-Schuster forcing another fumble and giving the Bengals excellent field position. With Giovanni Bernard holding down the backfield in the long absence of Joe Mixon, he looked like the seasoned vet he is and capped off the drive with a four-yard rushing touchdown. Cincinnati now ahead 10 to 0 with the second half approaching.
Big Ben and the Steelers offense appeared to be cooking something up and getting into a groove with Benny Snell Jr. leading the way in relief of James Conner. A misfire from Roethlisberger on a pass intended for Smith-Schuster was intercepted by Mackensie Alexander and returned for 21 yards with the addition of an untimely unsportsmanlike call penalty against the Steelers to tack on another 15 yards.
The damage was far from over when the Bengals offense struck again and it was none other than Bernard took a short pass from Ryan Finley for 14 yards into the endzone. Cincinnati began separating themselves from the Steelers in rather unexpected fashion with a 17 to 0 lead with the first half concluding.
Despite a disastrous start to the game, Big Ben looked like he was focused on turning the tides on the Bengals and a big play from Chase Claypool for 37 yards gave Roethlisberger a much-needed boost resulting in finding Diontae Johnson on a perfect 38-yard touchdown connection.
.@_BigBen7 ➡️ @Juiceup__3
Watch #PITvsCIN: https://t.co/gTYOZBram2 pic.twitter.com/Fw9Z6Ps34Y— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) December 22, 2020
The Steelers managed another successful drive after the defense continued to do their job and Chris Boswell was able to show why he can be relied upon at any time with a 25-yard field goal to bring Pittsburgh within one score. The Bengals leading 17 to 10 halfway through the second half.
Unfortunately for the Steelers, the offensive momentum was brought to an abrupt stop when Finley completely exploited a hole in Pittsburgh's defense and scrambled for a 23-yard touchdown run. Finley's touchdown put the Bengals lead back to two scores now 24 to 10.
Roethlisberger and Snell were able to give the Steelers hope at a comeback with the drive they were able to put together. After several solid connections between Big Ben and his pass catchers, it was Snell who finished the drive with a one-yard score. The Steelers got themselves within a single score again with now trailing 17 to 24.
In for 6️⃣!@benny_snell | Watch #PITvsCIN: https://t.co/gTYOZBram2 pic.twitter.com/EmozE5lmU2
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) December 22, 2020
Any sort of luck and success the Steelers found was far little too late and a late field goal from Cincinnati only sealed the deal after Pittsburgh couldn't quiet the storm the Bengals placed in front of them early on in this contest. Three turnovers from the Steelers offense were the proverbial nail in the coffin for Pittsburgh and a third straight loss was without a doubt a tough pill to swallow.
Steelers Stat Leaders
Ben Roethlisberger 170 Passing Yards One TD
Benny Snell Jr. 18 Rushes 84 Yards One TD
Diontae Johnson 8 Receptions 59 Yards One TD
Minkah Fitzpatrick 7 Tackles
