After starting the season with 11 straight victories, only to follow it up with two straight losses, the Pittsburgh Steelers needed a confidence boost. They thought they’d get just that against the struggling 2-10-1 Cincinnati Bengals— but instead, the exact opposite happened.
The Bengals shocked the 11-2 Steelers, handing them their third straight loss and beating Pittsburgh for the first time in 13 tries against their division rivals.
With the way the Steelers are playing, it’s now all but certain that the defending Super Bowl champ Kansas City Chiefs, who only have one loss, will secure first place in the AFC and earn a first-round bye in the playoffs.
The Steelers struggled mightily on offense on Monday night. Veteran quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was erratic, giving the Bengals the momentum in the early parts of the game.
The Steelers have been forced to put the ball in Roethlisberger’s hands thanks to an ailing running attack that hasn’t been able to gain 100 yards on the ground in seven of its last eight games.
Unfortunately, they had three turnovers on the night, while the Bengals gashed Pittsburgh’s run defense to the tune of 152 rushing yards.
Bengals quarterback Ryan Finley, who took over after promising rookie Joe Burrow suffered a season-ending injury several weeks ago, was efficient and didn’t make mistakes. He even executed a perfect quarterback keep, tricking the Steelers linebackers and running into the end zone for a score.
The road doesn’t get any easier for Pittsburgh as the season nears its end. They will face the Indianapolis Colts next week, who are 10-4 and could potentially be the team that the Steelers will end up facing in the first round of the playoffs.
