Steelers get ‘miracle’ when Bengals implode
Pittsburgh Steelers' Chris Boswell (9) celebrates with teammates after kicking a 35-yard game winning field goal during the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2016, in Cincinnati. Pittsburgh won 18-16. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Pittsburgh’s Chris Boswell (9) celebrates a 35-yard game-winning field goal against Cincinnati late Saturday night.
CINCINNATI – The Immaculate Reception will forever be known as one of the biggest plays in NFL postseason history.
But Franco Harris’ game-winning touchdown reception off a deflected pass on the final play of the Steelers’ 1972 playoff win over Oakland has nothing in terms of overall drama to what occurred Saturday night at Paul Brown Stadium.
Needing more than one miracle, the Steelers got several and defeated the Cincinnati Bengals, 18-16, on a 35-yard Chris Boswell field goal in an AFC Wild Card game.
Pittsburgh will head to Denver Sunday to face the Broncos in an AFC Divisional Playoff game.
After Cincinnati rallied from a 15-0 deficit in the fourth quarter to grab a 16-15 lead on a 25-yard touchdown pass from A.J. McCarron to A.J. Green with 1:50 remaining, the Steelers got the ball back.
Landry Jones, who entered in the fourth quarter when starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger suffered a sprained right shoulder when sacked by Cincinnati linebacker Vontaze Burfict on the final play of the third quarter, faced a daunting task. Twice this season Jones led the Steelers to late victories after entering a game because of an injury to the starter. He couldn’t do it a third time.
Burfict stepped in front of a pass intended for Steelers receiver Markus Wheaton at the Pittsburgh 26 with 1:36 remaining, setting off a celebration on the Cincinnati sideline.
All the Bengals needed to do was run three plays, force the Steelers to use all of their timeouts and then kick a field goal that would put them ahead by four points.
Enter Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier.
Shazier, who led the Steelers with 13 tackles, ripped the football from the grasp of Cincinnati running back Jeremy Hill and it was recovered by Ross Cockrell with 1:23 remaining.
“We understood how big the moment was and what could happen,” said Shazier, who forced two fumbles. “We went out there looking to get a stop and get the ball back for our offense.”
Enter Roethlisberger, who came back to the field late in the fourth quarter to offer moral support.
The Steelers’ quarterback spent most of the quarter in the locker room getting his injured shoulder assessed by team doctors. They kept him apprised of what was happening on the field and he returned to the sideline prior to the touchdown pass to Green.
Roethlisberger had attempted some passes in the tunnel under the stadium but couldn’t raise his right arm above shoulder level.
“It was dire,” admitted Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, who improved his playoff record to 6-4. “Ben and I have been together for nine years. We kind of looked at each other and said now or never.”
Roethlisberger made a couple of practice tosses on the sidelines and headed back into the game.
“I was at the other end of the field, and Coach Tomlin looked at me, and I was giving him the ‘Do you want me to go?’ type of look; give me the nod,” Roethlisberger said. “I guess he agreed with me.”
Throwing short passes, Roethlisberger completing five tosses, the last of which was a 12-yard catch-and-run by Antonio Brown on fourth-and-2.
Brown’s catch put the ball at the Cincinnati 47 with 22 seconds remaining and the Steelers used their final timeout to stop the clock.
With little time remaining, the Steelers had no choice but to take a shot deeper downfield.
Roethlisberger went back to Brown on quick pass over the middle. The ball sailed high and Brown had to leap to try to catch it. He didn’t, and as Brown landed, Burfict hit him in the head with his shoulder, drawing a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness.
“He’s trying to go over and defend the play,” Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said. “There were a lot of plays out there and calls went different ways. They deemed that to be a hit to the head, I guess.”
Brown was knocked unconscious and suffered a concussion. As he was being tended to by doctors, players from both teams milled about at midfield. Steelers outside linebackers coach Joey Porter, who had gone onto the field to check on Brown, said something to the Cincinnati players as he walked off. Cincinnati cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones went after Porter, running into an official, who immediately threw a flag.
In addition to Burfict’s 15-yard penalty, the Bengals also were penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Instead of having a potential 50-yard field goal attempt, the Steelers sent Boswell out for a 35-yard game-winner.
The Steelers won’t know the status of two of their biggest stars – Roethlisberger and Brown – until later this week.
“We won’t complain about how we get them,” said Steelers guard Ramon Foster. “We played our game and just executed when we needed to. Our kicker made the kick at the end. I guess anything can happen.”
The victory was the Steelers’ 34th in the postseason, tying them with Dallas for the most in NFL history. … Roethlisberger is 11-5 as a starter in the playoffs, including 4-1 on the road. … Brown had seven receptions for 119 yards. … Roethlisberger threw for 229 yards and one touchdown. … The Steelers forced four turnovers and are now 11-2 when they force at least one turnover.