Unlike the playoff game, the game didn’t feature any of the nastiness, but it also didn’t feature much efficiency for the Bengals on offense, as they were just 4 of 16 on third down while being held to 46 yards rushing despite outgaining Pittsburgh 405 to 374.
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw three touchdowns, and the Pittsburgh defense forced the Cincinnati Bengals to settle for field goals on all three of their trips.
The Steelers never trailed after Roethlisberger’s 20-yard pass to third-string tight end Xavier Grimble in the first quarter.
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Roethlisberger added a touchdown strike to tight end Jesse James in the third quarter for an 11-point lead and then delivered the game-winner on a 4-yard toss to running back DeAngelo Williams with 6:54 remaining.
Andy Dalton’s 25-yard touchdown pass to Giovani Bernard got the Bengals within 24-16 with 3:23 to go, and the Bengals defense got a three-and-out after that to set up the possible game-tying score.
Dalton finished 31 of 54 for 366 yards and a touchdown.
The 54 attempts were a career high for Dalton. Only two of his completions went to A.J. Green for 38 yards. Bernard led the way with nine catches for 100 yards, while Boyd, a Pittsburgh native, had six receptions for 78 yards.
The Bengals intercepted Roethlisberger twice and converted both into field goals, but Pittsburgh kept the Cincinnati offense playing on long fields for most of the day. Four Bengals drives started inside their own 10, and six possessions went for three-and-outs as Cincinnati struggled to get anything going on the ground, averaging 2.6 yards per carry.
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