The highs and lows of the Steelers week 4 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals.
COIN TOSS: Bengals call tails. It's heads. Steelers elect to defer. Cincinnati receives the opening kickoff.
8:21 p.m. – What Went Wrong: It will go down in the play-by-play as a defensive stop for the Steelers that was followed by a punt by the Bengals to give the ball to the Pittsburgh offense at its 12-yard line. But on the 3-yard screen pass to Joe Mixon that preceded the punt, Cam Heyward was injured and limped off the field. As the Steelers offense prepared to run its first play of the game, Heyward was being attended to on the sideline by head trainer John Norwig and then he headed into the locker room.
8:27 p.m. – What Went Right: It started poorly when Diontae Johnson caught a 3-yard pass and lost a fumble that was recovered by safety Jessie Bates to give the Bengals possession at the Steelers 15-yard line. But then on a third-and-5, Mark Barron broke up a pass in the end zone for tight end Tyler Eifert, and Cincinnati settled for a 28-yard field goal by Randy Bullock to take a 3-0 lead with 8:22 left in the first quarter.
8:37 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The Steelers offense moved to a couple of first downs, but then it came to a third-and-1 from the Bengals 42-yard line. On third down, Benny Snell was stuffed for no gain, and then on fourth-and-1 James Conner was stuffed for no gain. Cincinnati took over on its 42-yard line with 4:02 left in the first quarter.
8:42 p.m. – What Went Right: With Cam Heyward out of the locker room and back on the field, the Steelers defense posted a three-and-out. After Devin Bush dropped Joe Mixon for a 1-yard loss, an incomplete pass set up a third-and-10. Under pressure from Stephon Tuitt, Andy Dalton's pass for John Ross was almost intercepted by Joe Haden. The Steelers took over at their 20-yard line following the touchback on the punt.
9:08 p.m. – What Went Right: Following an exchange of punts that was set up by the Steelers defense posting another three-and-out, the offense took over at the Cincinnati 41-yard line. In five plays, the Steelers moved 46 yards to take a 7-3 lead with 10:32 remaining in the first half with the touchdown coming on a 21-yard pass to James Conner. The scoring play came on a third-and-2, and it was the first third down the Steelers converted in the game.
9:20 p.m. – What Went Right: The Steelers needed someone on their defense to make a play, and Bud Dupree came through. On a first down at the Steelers 18-yard line, Dupree beat Andre Smith and strip-sacked Andy Dalton for an 8-yard loss, and T.J. Watt recovered the fumble at the Bengals' 29-yard line with 5:49 remaining in the first half.
9:34 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The drive did end with a 29-yard field goal by Chris Boswell that extended the Steelers lead to 10-3 with 58 seconds left in the first half, but there was a palpable feeling there could have been more. After moving to a first-and-10 at the Bengals 14-yard line, the Steelers next three plays included a pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster that lost 2 yards, a pass to Diontae Johnson that gained 9 yards, and then a run by Jaylen Samuels that lost 4 yards.
10 p.m. – What Went Right: The Steelers took the second half kickoff and marched 75 yards in eight plays to take a 17-3 lead with 10:36 left in the third quarter. The Steelers converted a third-and-5 with an 18-yard pass to Jaylen Samuels, and then Nick Vannett caught a 17-yard pass from Mason Rudolph on a second-and-15. A 21-yard run by James Conner gave the Steelers a first down at the 2-yard line, and then on the next play Samuels ran it into the end zone out of the wildcat.
10:06 p.m. – What Went Right: After Chris Boswell's kickoff went into the end zone for a touchback, the Bengals went three-and-out with the big play being an 11-yard sack by Cam Heyward on second down. After Kevin Huber's 29-yard punt, the Steelers offense took possession for their second series of the second half at the Bengals 43-yard line.
10:11 p.m. – What Went Right: Two plays after Kevin Huber's punt, the Steelers lead had grown to 24-3 thanks to a 43-yard pass from Mason Rudolph to a wide open Diontae Johnson for the touchdown. The Steelers had a three-score lead with 9:24 left in the third quarter.
10:19 p.m. – What Went Right: After the Bengals went from their 25-yard line to the 41-yard line with three straight running plays, two sacks over the next three plays – one by T.J. Watt and the other by Javon Hargrave – forced the Bengals to punt. The Steelers began their next possession at their 31-yard line following a 42-yard punt.
10:44 p.m. – What Went Right: The Steelers defense bent but didn't break, and on a fourth-and-goal from the 13-yard line, Andy Dalton's pass went over the head of Tyler Eifert, and Mark Barron, who was covering C.J. Uzomah, was in position to make the interception in the end zone. With about 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Steelers still led, 24-3.
10:55 p.m. – What Went Right: Chris Boswell extended the Steelers lead to 27-3 with a 49-yard field goal with 5:11 remaining in the fourth quarter. The big plays on the drive were a 10-yard pass to Jaylen Samuels that converted a third-and-9, and then two separate personal foul penalties on the Bengals – one on B.W. Webb and the other on Andrew Billings.
11:09 p.m. – What Went Right: The final significant play of the game was fitting for the way events unfolded all night. On a fourth-and-10 with less than two minutes left, Tyson Alualu came up the middle to sack Andy Dalton and turn the ball over on downs. It was the Steelers' eighth sack of the night.
FINAL SCORE: Steelers 27, Bengals 3
