Steelers whip Cincinnati, shake up playoff picture
Steelers running back DeAngelo Williams (34) runs for a touchdown in the second half of Sunday’s game against the Bengals in Cincinnati.
Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton, right, tackles Steelers defensive end Stephon Tuitt, center left, after Tuitt caught an interception in the first half of Sunday’s game in Cincinnati.
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) looks to throw a short toss under pressure from Bengals defensive tackle Geno Atkins (97) in the second half of Sunday’s game.
Bengals quarterback AJ McCarron (5) throws in the first half of Sunday’s game against the Steelers.
Steelers cornerback William Gay (22) celebrates after scoring a touchdown on an interception off Bengals quarterback AJ McCarron in the second half of Sunday’s game in Cincinnati.
Steelers wide receiver Martavis Bryant (10) is tackled by Bengals outside linebacker Vontaze Burfict (55) in the first half of Sunday’s game.
Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton watches the sideline with a cast on his throwing hand in the first half of Sunday’s game against the Steelers.
CINCINNATI – The AFC playoff picture might have dramatically changed Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium.
And it all happened on one play.
Steelers’ defensive end Stephon Tuitt intercepted a screen pass by Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton and rumbled up the field. Dalton attempted to bring the 6-6, 303-pound Tuitt to the ground by diving at his legs and wound up with a fractured thumb on his throwing hand.
With Dalton out of the game, the Steelers rolled over the Bengals, 33-20, keeping Cincinnati from clinching the AFC North title.
The Steelers (8-5), who remain on the outside looking in on the postseason, might have a shot to catch Cincinnati (10-3) for the AFC North title. The Steelers would either need to win their remaining three games and have the Bengals lose all three, or the Bengals could go 1-2 if one of those losses came against Baltimore in the regular-season finale.
After beating AFC South leader Indianapolis, 45-10, last week at Heinz Field and whipping the Bengals Sunday, the Steelers don’t care who or where they play in the postseason. They just want to get in.
“I’d say so,” said Steelers guard David DeCastro, when asked if this was the team’s biggest win of the season. “You don’t want to focus on it, but at the end of the day, it’s a huge one. I’m not going to lie and say it’s not.”
It was big in more ways than one. The Bengals, who have been mostly injury free this season, must attempt to regroup without their quarterback, who is definitely out for next week’s game in San Francisco and possibly for the Dec. 27 game at Denver and Baltimore.
“It’s a blow,” said Cincinnati defensive end Carlos Dunlap. “That’s our quarterback and he’s having a heck of a year.”
Dalton’s injury was one of several suffered by Cincinnati in a chippy game from the time both teams took the field.
Cincinnati linebacker Vontaze Burfict, who had been called out on social media by several Steelers after knocking star running back Le’Veon Bell out for the season in their meeting last month, caused a shoving match during pregame warmups by crossing the 50-yard line and staring down the Steelers.
A number of Pittsburgh players met Burfict, who refused to talk after the game, at midfield and both teams came together before cooler heads prevailed.
“That’s a written rule, I believe. You cannot cross somebody else’s side of the 50,” said Steelers linebacker James Harrison. “There are a lot of things that can happen when you cross somebody else’s 50.”
There were several personal fouls called early and many plays ended with an extra shove or a player getting in someone’s face.
“You can’t intimidate us,” said Tuitt. “We’re the ones who do the intimidation.”
With the Steelers leading 7-0 on a 1-yard TD run by DeAngelo Williams, Dalton quickly moved the Bengals to the Pittsburgh 4. But Tuitt dropped in front of running back Giovanni Bernard on a short screen pass, intercepting it and returning it to the 10.
“I saw that play a lot during the week,” said Tuitt, who did not play in the Bengals’ 16-10 win at Pittsburgh Nov. 1. “I just reacted to what I saw during the week. I ended up making the play. I was trying to run off and make a touchdown.”
The Steelers were rarely challenged by backup A.J. McCarron. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger did enough to build a 13-0 lead and maintain that advantage throughout much of the game.
Roethlisberger completed 30 of 39 passes for 282 yards with an interception. Williams rushed for 76 yards and two scores.
“Offensively, we thought we could have been better,” said Roethlisberger. “We got down there and kicked some field goals. We got some penalties and got behind the chains, but we converted third downs a lot early.
“We understand (Cincinnati) is a top-5 scoring defense, so we understand they’re not going to make scoring easy.”
McCarron, who completed 22 of 32 passes for 280 yards, accounted for much of the scoring the rest of the way – for both teams.
He threw a 66-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Green in the second-quarter and had a 5-yard TD to Rex Burkhead with just over one minute remaining in the fourth quarter. But McCarron also tossed two costly interceptions that resulted in touchdowns.
The first came on the opening drive of the second half. With the Steelers leading, 16-7, McCarron tried a quick pass to wide receiver Mohamed Sanu. But cornerback William Gay jumped the route, intercepted it, then returned it 23 yards for a touchdown and a 23-7 lead.
It was the fifth consecutive interception that Gay has returned for a score, an NFL record.
With Pittsburgh leading 26-13 in the fourth quarter, safety Robert Golden intercepted an errant McCarron pass and returned it 27 yards to the Cincinnati 16. That set up Williams’ second TD run and made it 33-13.
“It’s good to come out on top,” said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. “To do that, we had to have quality contributions in all three phases. We got turnovers on defense, maintained possession of the ball on offense, won on third downs and (Chris) Boswell kicked some quality kicks.”
Steelers tight end Heath Miller matched his career high with 10 receptions, the third time he’s done so. He also had 10 receptions against the Bengals earlier this season. … The Steelers improved to 14-3 at Paul Brown Stadium and have won nine consecutive games in December. … The Steelers have scored 30 or more points in a team-record five consecutive games. … The victory was the 90th for Tomlin, making the Steelers the only team in NFL history with three coaches with 90 or more wins. Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher are the others. … Antonio Brown caught seven passes for 87 yards and now has 100 catches this season. He is the sixth player to record at least 100 receptions in three consecutive seasons.