In a season marked by ups and downs, the Cincinnati Bengals refused to go quietly into the night. With their backs against the wall and playoff aspirations hanging by a thread, Zac Taylor’s squad delivered a gritty 19-17 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium on Saturday night.
The win keeps Cincinnati’s postseason hopes alive for at least one more day, as they now anxiously await the results of Sunday’s slate of games. To punch their ticket to the dance, the Bengals need losses from both the Denver Broncos and Miami Dolphins. It’s a tall order, but one that Taylor believes his team is more than capable of overcoming.
They’re not going to want us in this tournament. I promise you.
Zac Taylor, Bengals Head Coach
Hendrickson Leads Defensive Heroics
For much of the evening, it appeared Cincinnati would cruise to a relatively comfortable win. However, the Steelers mounted a furious fourth-quarter rally, threatening to crush the Bengals’ dreams in the process. Enter Trey Hendrickson.
The star defensive end turned in a monster performance, racking up 3.5 sacks and spearheading a vastly improved defensive effort compared to the teams’ previous meeting in December. In that 44-38 shootout loss, the Bengals surrendered a staggering 520 yards. This time around, they held Pittsburgh to a mere 193 total yards and just 4-of-12 on third down.
I just feel like we owed them. Y’all know how we feel about this team. But at the end of the day, we came to their house and basically did what they did to us.
Cam Taylor-Britt, Bengals Cornerback
Burrow Battles Through
On a night when the offense struggled in the red zone, settling for field goals on three occasions, Joe Burrow still managed to move the chains when it mattered most. The star quarterback finished 37-of-45 for 277 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT, narrowly missing out on a 5,000-yard season.
There was a brief scare when Burrow took a hard sack and remained on the ground for several moments before being evaluated for a concussion. Thankfully, he emerged from the blue medical tent without missing a play, determined to lead his team to victory.
It was nothing that was going to keep me out of the game at that point.
Joe Burrow, Bengals Quarterback
Waiting Game Begins
With their fate now out of their hands, the Bengals will be glued to the television on Sunday, rooting for the Kansas City Chiefs to take care of business against the Broncos and the New York Jets to potentially play spoiler in what could be Aaron Rodgers’ final game.
Should the chips fall their way, Burrow is confident his squad has what it takes to make some noise in the postseason.
I know that if we get in, we can make some noise with the players and coaches that we have in this building.
Joe Burrow
The Bengals acknowledge that the odds are stacked against them, but they’ve given themselves a fighting chance. Now, all they can do is sit back, watch, and hope that their improbable journey still has a few chapters left to be written.
- Bengals keep playoff hopes alive with thrilling 19-17 win over Steelers
- Cincinnati needs losses from Broncos and Dolphins to clinch Wild Card spot
- Trey Hendrickson dominates with 3.5 sacks, leads vastly improved defense
- Joe Burrow battles through injury scare to move chains when it matters most
- Zac Taylor confident Bengals can make postseason noise if they get the chance
