The Cincinnati Bengals made it interesting on Monday Night Football against the Pittsburgh Steelers, going up 17-0 before toughing it out to a 27-17 win.
It was the best performance of the year by the Bengals since the Joe Burrow injury and showed a fight around Zac Taylor most didn’t expect coming into the game.
Here’s a look at some quick notes and numbers from the game.
Quick Hits
— Bengals dropped two easy interceptions of Ben Roethlisberger on the first drive, critical mistakes that could make all the difference. Luckily for the Bengals, they wound up converting on some of the many chances Big Ben gave them.
— Three straight runs for the Bengals on their first offensive possession showed onlookers all they needed to know about how Zac Taylor feels about Ryan Finley under center. They finished with 41 rushes compared to just 13 pass attempts.
— Early, the Bengals had three dropped interceptions and hardly got points out of a fumbled snap. But the big play happened when Vonn Bell forced a fumble, helping lead to a Giovani Bernard rushing score.
— Funny story — Bell had warned JuJu Smith-Schuster about dancing on the Bengals’ logo at midfield before the game. JuJu did it anyway. Bell lit him up over the middle, causing the fumble.
— For the first time since the early 90s, the Bengals blanked the Steelers in the first half, going up 17-0. The Steelers didn’t look like a team that wanted to play football at all, but credit to Cincinnati for taking advantage and coming out with so much energy — against a good team and on prime time.
— The third quarter was the big concern, as the Bengals have been terrible there and hadn’t scored a touchdown in that frame since Week 7. Right on cue, the Steelers needed little time to score a touchdown, then bring it to 17-10.
— Carl Lawson wreaked havoc all night though, including key pressures in the third quarter.
— Taylor coached his tail off in the fourth quarter, holding off on a quarterback draw until a third down and getting it, then calling the read-option with Ryan Finley for a score to go back up by two touchdowns.
— Great game from corner William Jackson until a key late drive where he registered a DPI and dropped interception, letting the Steelers score and bring it to 24-17.
— Defense needed a stop to win and got it late, largely thanks to stellar corner play and big pressure from Lawson.
Key Stat
3: Turnovers by Pittsburgh. The Steelers looked disinterested, but credit goes to Bengals defenders for making it happen. Wildly enough, defenders dropped at least four more interceptions on miserable passes by Big Ben.
Game Ball
Vonn Bell: A clear-cut leader of the defense, Bell set the tone early with big plays, highlighted by the fumble on the JuJu hit.
What to Fix
Third downs: The Bengals finished 4-of-14 here, again just struggling to move the ball when it matters most. This one didn’t have a major impact on the outcome of the game this time, but one would think the playcalling would adapt by now to the quarterback change.
Top Takeaway
Job saved? Maybe: Taylor might have just saved his job. His guys fought hard. He made key play calls to score again in the fourth quarter. The effort also spoiled a primetime curse and took down a bully that usually does whatever it wants against the team.
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