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What Went Right, What Went Wrong

What went right, wrong at Cincinnati

The highs and lows of the Steelers regular season Week 13 MNF game at the Cincinnati Bengals.

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Pregame warmups and locker room prep before the Steelers' Week 13 game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

8:30 p.m. ET - Kickoff**

8:36 p.m. ET - What went wrong: A turnover on the first possession and a 15-yard penalty on Le'Veon Bell tacked on gave the Bengals the ball in Steelers territory. It was a third-and-7 from the Steelers 48-yard line, and when Ben Roethlisberger tried to get the ball to Eli Rogers over the middle, Adam Jones came across and made a diving interception. After the play, Bell was flagged for unnecessary roughness after being baited by Vontaze Burfict, and the Bengals took over at the Steelers 44-yard line following the penalty.

8:42 p.m. ET - What went wrong: The Steelers defense ultimately held the Bengals to a field goal after the interception, but they lost Ryan Shazier to a back injury along the way. It was a second-and-5 at the Steelers 20-yard line, and Andy Dalton completed a short pass to wide receiver Josh Malone over the middle. Shazier came up and made the tackle after a short gain, but he grabbed at his lower back almost immediately after hitting the ground. He was taken off the field on a back-board.

9:05 p.m. ET - What went wrong: The Bengals extended their lead to 10-0 with an 85-yard touchdown drive on their second possession of the game. On the drive, Andy Dalton completed 5-of-6 for 46 yards, including the 8-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Green, who got separation from CB Coty Sensabaugh by shoving him to the inside as he broke to the sideline. Dalton also ran once for 11 yards.

9:08 p.m. ET - End of 1st Quarter: Bengals 10, Steelers 0

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Game action photos from the Pittsburgh Steelers' Week 13 game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

9:34 p.m. ET - What went wrong:** Not being on the same page sabotaged a Steelers drive midway through the second quarter. On a third-and-2 from the 38-yard line, Ben Roethlisberger anticipated Antonio Brown zigging when Brown instead was zagging, and the pass was incomplete. Jordan Berry's third punt of the game gave the Bengals the ball at their own 22-yard line with 6:55 remaining in the second quarter.

9:56 p.m. ET - What went wrong: The Bengals extended their lead to 17-0 with a second touchdown pass from Andy Dalton to A.J. Green, this one from 15 yards out that capped a 15-play, 78-yard drive that ended with 26 seconds left in the first half. The Bengals were 4-for-4 on third downs during the drive, including a third-and-16 early in the possession and a third-and-11, which is when Dalton found Green for the touchdown.

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10:00 p.m. ET - What went right:** Even though the Steelers got the ball with only 26 seconds left in the half following A.J. Green's second touchdown catch, Ben Roethlisberger and the offense moved 71 yards in three plays to get into position for a 30-yard field goal by Chris Boswell to cut the deficit to 17-3 at halftime. A 33-yard screen pass to Le'Veon Bell moved the ball out to the 50-yard line, and then on the next play a 38-yard pass interference penalty on Dre Kirkpatrick on a deep pass to Antonio Brown put the ball at the 12-yard line. With only five seconds remaining, the Steelers opted for the field goal as time expired.

10:01 p.m. ET - Halftime: Bengals 16, Steelers 3

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10:28 p.m. ET - What went right:** The second half started out well for the Steelers, and with just over eight minutes remaining in the period the Bengals' lead had been sliced to 17-10. The defense opened with a three-and-out, and then the offense marched 78 yards in nine plays, with the touchdown coming on a 35-yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Le'Veon Bell. It was just a dump-off pass to Bell, who ran down the left sideline past a couple of Bengals defenders who thought he was out of bounds. The Steelers converted two third downs on the drive, one with a pass to Antonio Brown and another with a designed run by Roethlisberger.

10:41 p.m. ET - What went wrong: Cincinnati The Bengals answered the Steelers touchdown with a field goal to restore their lead to 10 points. It was a 41-yard field goal by Randy Bullock that capped a 10-play, 52-yard drive. But compounding the problem came on the ensuing kickoff, when a holding penalty on J.J. Wilcox nullified a 96-yard kickoff return by Martavis Bryant. So instead of a 20-17 score, it was 20-10, and the Steelers started at their own 16-yard line.

10:52 p.m. ET - What went wrong: On the Steelers possession that began at their own 16-yard line, a third-and-8 turned into a third-and-13 because of a false start penalty on Eli Rogers, and then on that play, Al Villanueva held Carl Lawson on a pass that ended up incomplete anyway, and the Steelers had to punt. A nice tackle by Brian Allen on the return meant the Bengals began at their own 13-yard line with 1:10 left in the third quarter.

10:57 p.m. ET - End of 3rd Quarter: Bengals 20, Steelers 10

11:15 p.m. ET - What went right: The Steelers cut their deficit to 20-13 with 10:07 left in the fourth quarter when a 37-yard field goal by Chris Boswell capped an 11-play, 74-yard drive. One of the key plays on the drive was a 9-yard run by Le'Veon Bell that converted a third-and-1, and another was a 30-yard pass interference penalty on Dre Kirkpatrick on a deep ball to Martavis Bryant.

11:20 p.m. ET - What went right: The Steelers defense again forced a three-and-out, this time after Chris Boswell's field goal, but Eli Rogers' punt return out to the Pittsburgh 32-yard line was nullified by another holding penalty on J.J. Wilcox, and the offense started at the 20-yard line with 8:01 remaining in the fourth quarter.

11:35 p.m. ET - What went right: Brown It took just about 57 minutes, but the Steelers finally forged a tie, 20-20, on a drive that officially will be recorded as nine plays and 80 yards but actually covered 95 yards because of a taunting penalty on JuJu Smith-Schuster. Ben Roethlisberger completed 6-of-8 for 78 yards on the drive, including the 6-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Brown. It was 20-20 with 3:51 remaining in the fourth quarter.

11:56 p.m. ET - Final Score: Steelers 23, Bengals 20

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