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What went right, wrong at Cincinnati

Bob Labriola with his thoughts on "what went right, wrong" at Cincinnati.

WHAT WENT RIGHT
* At the end of the first quarter, Fitzgerald Toussaint and Jordan Todman had combined on eight carries for 50 yards. Toussaint also caught one pass for 27 yards.

  • Bengals DT Domata Peko was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct, and then Peko and Wallace Gilberry get into a shoving match. They are teammates.
  • On the defensive series following Markus Wheaton's fumble: Bud Dupree a tackle for loss on a run; Cam Heyward pushes his man right into AJ McCarron; Robert Golden intercepts an underthrown pass intended for Marvin Jones and returns it 35 yards to the Cincinnati 41-yard line.
  • Very nice blitz pickup by Fitz Toussaint on safety Derron Smith allows Ben Roethlisberger to complete a 24-yard pass to Markus Wheaton that became a 37-yard gain following a personal foul penalty on safety Shawn Williams.
  • The first half ended without a touchdown scored by either team, but the Steelers were getting some nice production from their two young running backs. Fitz Toussaint and Jordan Todman had combined for 73 yards on 17 carries, and Toussaint also had two catches for 43 more yards. Chris Boswell field goals of 39 and 30 yards meant the Steelers led, 6-0.
  • Sack/strip by Ryan Shazier, and the fumble is recovered by Cam Thomas. It ended up in the end zone via an apparent fumble by Thomas and a scoop and score by Will Gay, which was followed by an idiotic celebration penalty that cost the offense 15 yards of field position when the touchdown was overturned on review. Steelers start at their own 36-yard line.
  • Martavis Bryant recoups the penalty yardage and more on the first play of the possession created by the Jarvis Jones strip/sack by going 44 yards with a reverse for a first down at the Cincinnati 20-yard line.
  • It was a second-and-10 from the Pittsburgh 30-yard line, and Ben Roethlisberger threw a quick slant over the middle to Antonio Brown, who turned it into a 60-yard gain to the Cincinnati 10-yard line. Two plays later, Martavis Bryant makes a great catch in the back corner of the end zone for the game's first touchdown and a 15-0 Steelers lead with 5:02 left in the third quarter.
  • Ryan Shazier forces a fumble with a hit on Giovani Bernard, and he recovers it himself to give the Steelers the ball at the 25-yard line with 1:37 remaining in the third quarter.

WHAT WENT WRONG
* The Bengals converted a third-and-12 with a screen pass to TE Tyler Eifert during which the Steelers tackling was less than crisp, but on the ensuing third-and-3, Robert Golden broke up a pass for Eifert, and the Bengals elected to punt on fourth down from the Pittsburgh 38-yard line.

  • On third-and-6 from the Bengals 36-yard line on the first play of the second quarter, a Cincinnati blitz gets two guys in clean on Ben Roethlisberger. In making the sack, Reggie Nelson appears to injure his left leg. Jordan Berry came on to punt.
  • First turnover of the game – a fumble by Markus Wheaton – gives the Bengals the ball at the Cincinnati 47-yard line.

Game action from the Steelers' AFC Wild Card game against the Bengals.

  • On the offensive series following the fumble recovery by Ryan Shazier, the Steelers got themselves in a bad spot immediately, and then things got worse. A holding penalty on Cody Wallace made it first-and-20, and then on third down, Ben Roethisberger held onto the ball in an effort to make a play only to be sacked and have his right shoulder injured by Vontaze Burfict.
  • On the second play following a Steelers punt out of their own end zone on the play after Roethlisberger's sack/injury, the Bengals benefitted from a 50-yard pass interference penalty on Robert Golden that put the ball at the Pittsburgh 4-yard line. Jeremy Hill's touchdown run made it 15-7 with about 14 minutes remaining in the game.
  • Two series with Landry Jones in at quarterback for an injured Ben Roethlisberger. Only one first down – and that came on a 25-yard run by Jordan Todman. On those possessions, Jones is 2-for-4 for 11 yards.
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