Did that really just happen?
In one of the wildest games in franchise history, the Pittsburgh Steelers overcame the loss of their franchise quarterback, 10 costly penalties and a 16-point fourth quarter rally by the Cincinatti Bengals to win 18-16 on a 35-yard field goal by Chris Boswell with 14 seconds left in the game.
The final drive will be remembered for the two costly unsportsmanlike conduct penalties by Vontaze Burfict and Adam Jones that inexplicably set up the the winning Boswell field goal, and the heroic efforts of Ben Roethlisberger who came back for the final drive after being carted off with an apparent shoulder injury.
The fourth quarter was one for the ages. After a late third-quarter touchdown catch by Martavis Bryant stretched the Steelers lead to 15-0, the exit of Roethlisberger seemed to give the Bengals new life And helped lead to 16 unanswered points to take a late lead.
Landry Jones threw an interception to Burfict with less than two minutes to play that looked to seal the game for the Bengals. That’s until Ryan Shazier made the play of the game forcing a Jeremy Hill fumble with 1:38 left in the game to give the Steelers one final shot to get the winning field goal.
Roethlisberger completed 18 of 31 for 229 yards and a TD. Fitzgerald Toussaint and Jordan Todman helped pace the Steelers rushing attack, combining for 123 yards on 28 carries while Toussaint added four catches for 60 yards.
The Steelers will now head to Denver to face the Broncos in the AFC Divisional round with Roethlisberger’s status very much up in the air.
