- The Bengals' initial offensive series was a three-and-out, thanks to a stuff of BenJarvis Green-Ellis by Vince Williams on third down. Punter Kevin Huber dropped a perfect snap, and he was tackled by Will Allen just outside the Bengals end zone. Two plays later, Le'Veon Bell got into the end zone for his sixth touchdown of the season for a 7-0 Steelers lead with 9:58 left in the first quarter.
- On the kickoff following Bell's touchdown, Cedric Peerman returned it 37 yards to the Cincinnati 46-yard line, but he was ruled to have signaled for a fair catch at the 9-yard line, which is where the ball was placed and where the Bengals had to begin their second possession.
- The Bengals' second possession was ended by a Ziggy Hood sack. Their third possession was a three-and-out, with Jason Worilds laying a hit on QB Andy Dalton and Ike Taylor on the other end breaking up the pass intended for A.J. Green.
- It was not a good night for Cincinnati punter Kevin Huber, and his evening ended shortly after his third attempted punt of the first quarter. Huber got off a 38-yard punt that Antonio Brown fielded and returned right down the middle of the field for a 67-yard touchdown that upped the Steelers' lead to 21-0. On the play, Terence Garvin delivered a block on Huber that broke his jaw.
- It might have been only a 6-yard gain, but it served as a showcase for Le'Veon Bell. On the play Bell stiff-armed DE Michael Jackson to the ground in order to get around the end, and then he ran over LB Jayson DiManche. As a little icing on the cake, Bengals safety Reggie Nelson was flagged for taunting, which added 15 yards to the gain.
- After the touchdown pass to Marvin Jones sliced the Steelers lead to 30-20 with 5:46 left in the fourth quarter, the Bengals opted to attempt a two-point conversion to bring them within eight points of a potential tie game. Andy Dalton's pass was knocked down at the line of scrimmage by Jarvis Jones.
- It was a third-and-7 from the Pittsburgh 23-yard line, with the Steelers trying to drain the clock because they led, 30-20, and with the Bengals using their timeouts to try to mount a comeback. Ben Roethlisberger threw a quick sideline pass to Emmanuel Sanders, who broke a tackle and managed to gain the necessary yardage through extra effort.
- The Bengals' final attempt at a comeback was thwarted after four incomplete passes, the last of which came with 2:36 remaining. Jason Worilds had pressure on Andy Dalton on first and second downs; Cortez Allen broke up the pass on third down; and Troy Polamalu was in coverage on an overthrow to A.J. Green on fourth down.
WHAT WENT WRONG
* On the first play of the second quarter, the Bengals converted a third down situation when Lawrence Timmons was flagged for holding.
- Shaun Suisham kicked a 25-yard field goal to give the Steelers a 24-0 lead midway through the second quarter. His kickoff was returned 52 yards by Brandon Tate to allow the Bengals to start their possession at the Steelers 47-yard line. On the possession, the Bengals converted a fourth-and-1 from the Pittsburgh 3-yard line and scored two plays later on a run by Giovani Bernard. That made it 24-7 with 5:14 left in the first half.
- Through three quarters, the Steelers held a 30-7 lead and were dominating just about every statistical category except one. As of the end of the third quarter, the Steelers were 0-for-5 on third downs.
- With a 30-14 lead, the Steelers defense surrendered a 10-play, 75-yard drive, with the touchdown coming when the Bengals converted a fourth-and-5 with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Marvin Jones. The Bengals scored two touchdowns in the first 10 minutes of the fourth quarter, both of which came on fourth downs.
- The Steelers were trying to run out the clock, and it was a third-and-4 on which Le'Veon Bell was stopped after a 2-yard gain. During a post-whistle altercation, a flag was thrown. After a short administrative session, the flag was picked up. The Steelers punted.
