The Cincinnati Bengals kept their playoff aspirations afloat by beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 19-17 to win their fifth straight game. With that win, a loss by the Broncos, and a loss or tie by the Dolphins, the Bengals will make the postseason for the first time since 2022.
Despite suffering a minor injury in the second half of the game, Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow continued to put up MVP numbers, finishing 37 for 46 passing with 277 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. He opened the game by completing all 12 of his pass attempts for 94 yards and a passing touchdown. His perfect passing on Cincy’s first two drives gave the Bengals a 10-0 lead going into the second quarter.
After sleepwalking through the first, the Steelers finally woke up by leaning on running back Najee Harris, who picked up 32 yards on Pittsbrugh’s second drive. He also scampered into the end zone for his sixth rushing TD of the year to cut the game to 10-7. Still, the first half was awful for the Steelers, who were held to 12 total yards of offense outside of that 63-yard touchdown drive.
Najee Harris gets the @Steelers on the board!
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Bengals defensive lineman Trey Hendrickson recorded his 15th, 16th, and 17th sacks of the campaign in this game, making him the league leader in sacks this season.
After both teams turned the ball over, the Steelers elected to go for it on a 4th and 1 from their own 37 yard line but were stuffed for a loss of one yard, giving Cincy the ball with 48 seconds left in the half. Wide receiver Tee Higgins made a toe-tapping 18-yard reception on the drive, leading to a 27-yard field goal to make it 13-7 at halftime.
Cincy’s first possession of the second half led to yet another field goal to make it 16-7. On that series, Joe Burrow was hurt on a third-down sack and was slow to get up off the field. After taking that sack, the NFL’s passing yards and passing touchdowns leader went into the blue medical tent to be examined by Cincinnati’s training staff. Thankfully, he returned to the game on Cincy’s next possession.
Bengals running back Khalil Herbert, who was starting in place of the injured Chase Brown, had his best game as a Bengal with 83 total yards on the night. Coming into this matchup, he had 46 total yards on the season.
Ja’Marr Chase resumed his pursuit of the receiving triple crown (being the league leader in receiving yards, receptions, and receiving touchdowns) by making two catches for 34 yards on Cincy’s fourth-quarter field goal drive to make the score 19-7. Chase finished the game with ten receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown, bringing his season totals to 127 receptions for 1,708 yards and 17 touchdowns, all number-one in the league.
.@JoeyB and @Real10jayy__ 😮💨😮💨😮💨
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— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) January 5, 2025
Pittsburgh’s offense came alive once again with a nine-play, 65-yard touchdown drive to cut the lead to 19-14 with a little over eight minutes remaining in the game. Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson accounted for every single yard gained on that series
Later in the quarter, a punt accidentally touched by a member of the Bengals was recovered by the Steelers, giving Pittsburgh possession of the ball on Cincy’s side of the field with less than 5:30 to go. That resulted in a 54-yard field goal by Pittsburgh to make it 19-17. That was Pro Bowl kicker Chirs Boswell’s 41st field goal of the year, which extends his single-season franchise record.
The Steelers got the ball back one more time with a chance to win the game, but the Cincinnati defense held strong and forced a turnover on downs at their own 40 yard line to secure the win.
Pittsburgh now enters the postseason riding a four-game losing streak. Though the Steelers are currently positioned as the fifth seed in the AFC, they could end up being the sixth seed if the Los Angeles Chargers beat the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday. If that happens, then Pittsburgh would face Baltimore in the first round of the playoffs. However, they will travel to Houston to play the Texans if the Chargers lose their Week 18 matchup.
