By Paul Dehner Jr., Mike DeFabo and Amos Morale III
Evan McPherson kicked a 36-yard field goal with seven seconds left that proved to be the game-winning field goal as the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 33-31 on Thursday night at Paycor Stadium.
McPherson’s kick was his fourth field goal of the night and came at the end of an eight-play, 52-yard drive led by veteran quarterback Joe Flacco.
Flacco threw for 342 yards and three touchdowns in the victory. His favorite target was receiver Ja’Marr Chase, who set a franchise record with 16 receptions. Chase had 161 receiving yards and a touchdown, while teammate Tee Higgins added 96 yards and a score of his own.
Flacco delivering
The Bengals (3-4) have officially found something in Flacco. There was hope when Cincinnati traded him this month that he could enter the fray in Cincinnati, learn how to distribute the ball and perhaps pull the Bengals out of the offensive abyss they were living in under Jake Browning. Even they couldn’t have expected this so soon.
Flacco anticipates the Bengals’ offensive plays surprisingly well, considering he just entered the building nine days ago. Her chemistry with Chase is rightly the headliner here; the 16 completions were the most in a single game by a receiver in Bengals history.
Yet his ability to capitalize on his second and third reads in critical moments was almost equally impressive. He hit Andrei Iosivas for a 38-yard floater up the middle on a third down and found Noah Fant for a touchdown on third-and-goal. He even hauled the ball in for a 12-yard run. Then there was the final drive and one final deep ball to Higgins to set up the game-winning field goal.
This performance is straight out of a fairy tale and gives tangible momentum to the organization for the remainder of this season. It seemed impossible just two weeks ago, when the Bengals were blowing their doors off and going four straight games without a first-half touchdown. — Paul Dehner Jr.
Flacco’s fears came true
Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin spoke out this week on the Flacco trade. The coach said the deal didn’t make “sense” to him and he blasted Browns general manager Andrew Berry for helping a division rival.
While the Browns viewed Flacco as expendable, the 40-year-old QB proved Thursday that he still has something left in his right arm — and plenty of experience against the Steelers defense. The Bengals and their fans are happy he’s in town.
The performance of Pittsburgh’s defense was more disappointing, given that the Steelers more or less built their secondary with Joey Porter Jr., Darius Slay and Jalen Ramsey to deal with the Bengals’ talented receiving corps. Instead, Flacco cut through that defense, repeatedly hitting Chase and Higgins on slants and crosses.
With their success on the ground and through the air, the Bengals stayed one step ahead of the Steelers, negating their pass rush. A Steelers defense that struggled throughout the game had to make a stop when Flacco put the ball up for 1 with 2:15 left. At the field goal, Higgins beat Ramsey for a 28-yard reception. The receiver wisely slipped to force Pittsburgh to run out of timeouts. The Bengals finally gave it the go-ahead goal with seven seconds left and an Aaron Rodgers Hail Mary attempt failed as time expired. — Mike DeFabo, Steelers beat writer
Chase Brown gets started
The Bengals running game has been non-existent all season. Chase Brown’s longest run was just 13 yards on the night, and he averaged 2.7 yards per attempt. He completed passes of 28 and 37 yards while accumulating 108 yards on 11 carries. The juice from the running game helped open up intermediate routes and play action. They didn’t use it because Flacco consistently found completions, but it’s an effort worth developing in the future. — Dehner
Defense remains a concern
The Bengals defense will continue to be a problem, essentially limiting this team’s ceiling. The defense missed 19 tackles last week in Green Bay, and the problem continued Thursday night. Everyone took their turn, with linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr. being the primary offender with four missed tackles.
The lack of pass rush was a known issue and remained an issue with Trey Hendrickson sidelined for this game. No example reflects this more clearly than Rodgers’ touchdown pass to Pat Freiermuth late in the game. Missed tackles throughout the game provided over 100 free yards on offense and broken coverages accounted for over 100 more. Safety Geno Stone found himself in the middle of the two. DJ Turner’s excellent play and offense has masked the problem at times, but there are far too many similarities to last year’s defense to think Flacco can cover for it every week. — Dehner
Mistakes and turnovers open the door for the Bengals
In a short week, the Steelers seemed poised to put aside a desperate division rival when they jumped out to an early 10-0 lead. However, a handful of self-inflicted injuries helped open the door for the Bengals.
On fourth-and-1 from the Cincinnati 18-yard line, the Steelers appeared to have converted a successful push, with tight end Connor Heyward taking the snap. However, right guard Mason McCormick was flagged for a false start and the Steelers had to settle for a field goal. The Bengals responded with a touchdown.
Then, on the next play, Aaron Rodgers looked to take advantage of a simple safety look and spread the ball to DK Metcalf. The pass was intercepted and Cincinnati drove 37 yards in three plays to take a 14-10 lead. The Bengals would score 20 points before the Steelers responded. — DeFabo
Rodgers leads his comeback, but the Steelers score too quickly
The Steelers signed Rodgers for times like Thursday night. Trailing by six with 2:26 left, the ball was in his hands. After a holding penalty pushed the Steelers back to their own 32, Rodgers took advantage of broken coverage and passed to Pat Freiermuth in a weak spot in the zone. The tight end took off for a 68-yard touchdown. It turned out that the Steelers scored too quickly, as their defense did too little to take advantage of the offensive surge late in the game. — DeFabo
