COIN TOSS: Bengals win the toss and elect to defer. The Steelers get the football first.
4:31 p.m. – What Went Right: The Steelers gained one first down on the opening possession before having to call on Jordan Berry, whose 48-yard punt was fielded by Alex Erickson. After a short return, Erickson had the ball popped out by Ola Adeniyi, and the fumble was recovered by Benny Snell at the Bengals 32-yard line. James Conner gained 8 yards on two runs, but a shovel pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster came up 1 yard short of the first down. Chris Boswell's 41-yard field goal gave the Steelers a 3-0 lead with 11:23 left in the first quarter.
4:42 p.m. – What Went Right: On their first possession, the Bengals went three-and-out, with Joe Burrow completing 1-of-3 passes. Kevin Huber's 43-yard punt was not returned and gave the Steelers the ball at their 34-yard line.
5:02 p.m. – What Went Right: It started with a three-and-out by the Bengals that was followed by a 46-yard punt by Kevin Huber that was returned 15 yards by Ray-Ray McCloud. Starting at the Bengals 46-yard line, a reverse to Chase Claypool and then a 16-yard run by James Conner moved the ball into the red zone. When Ben Roethlisberger missed Eric Ebron in the end zone on third down, Chris Boswell's 30-yard field goal upped the Steelers lead to 6-0 with 4:50 left in the first quarter.
5:10 p.m. – What Went Right: After the Bengals went three-and-out again, the Steelers took possession at their 26-yard line, and after three plays they had scored their first touchdown of the game. Ben Roethlisberger started with a perfect 46-yard rainbow down the right sideline to Diontae Johnson, then it was a 16-yard pass to James Washington, and then back to Johnson on a 12-yard slant for the touchdown. The attempt at a two-point conversion was no good following an incomplete pass to Chase Claypool, and the Steelers led, 12-0, with 1:51 left in the first quarter.
5:17 p.m. – What Went Right: The Bengals made their initial first down on a 20-yard pass from Joe Burrow to Tyler Boyd, but on the next play, a short pass to Tee Higgins became a turnover when Cam Sutton stripped the ball loose and Steven Nelson recovered at the Pittsburgh 45-yard line.
5:22 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The Steelers were unable to capitalize on their second takeaway of the game, when a third-and-2 pass from Ben Roethlisberger was batted down at the line of scrimmage by Sam Hubbard. After that play, the Steelers were 0-for-5 on third downs.
5:31 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The Bengals took over after the punt on their 10-yard line and needed eight plays to go 90 yards and cut the Steelers lead to 12-7 on a 2-yard touchdown pass to Tee Higgins on a fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line. Higgins also hooked up with Burrow on a 54-yard reception when Cam Sutton released him apparently thinking there was deep help when there was not. The touchdown came with 10:27 left in the first half.
5:42 p.m. – What Went Right: The Steelers took the kickoff and drove 78 yards in seven plays to extend their lead to 19-7 on an 8-yard pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster that converted a third-and-goal. Ben Roethlisberger converted a third-and-6 with a 15-yard pass to Chase Claypool, and then the Bengals committed two costly penalties – a roughing the passer on Sam Hubbard and then a defensive pass interference on William Jackson. There was 7:23 left in the first half.
5:58 p.m. – What Went Right: The Steelers added to their lead with a 45-yard field goal from Chris Boswell with 1:48 left in the first half, but it came across as a missed opportunity. After an 18-yard pass to Diontae Johnson and a 24-yard completion to Eric Ebron and then another completion to Johnson for 17 yards, the Steelers had a first down at the Bengals 25-yard line. But the next three plays were a 5-yard loss on a James Conner run, an incomplete pass, and a short completion to JuJu Smith-Schuster. The Steelers led, 22-7.
HALFTIME: Steelers 22, Bengals 7
6:23 p.m. – What Went Right: The Bengals received the second half kickoff, and after an 11-yard run by Gio Bernard on the first play, Joe Burrow threw incomplete on first down, completed a 3-yard pass to Bernard on second down, and then Joe Haden broke up a third down pass intended for Auden Tate. After Kevin Huber's punt, the Steelers' first possession began at their 24-yard line.
6:29 p.m. – What Went Right: The offense may have gone three-and-out with two totally ineffective running plays to start the possession, but on fourth down, Jordan Berry nailed a 58-yard punt, and Justin Layne tackled returner Alex Erickson as soon as he caught the ball for no yards on the return. The Bengals started at their 15-yard line.
6:48 p.m. – What Went Right: Ben Roethlisberger capped a 12-play, 67-yard drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Chase Claypool that gave the Steelers a 29-7 lead with 4:22 remaining in the third period. Roethlisberger converted a third-and-10 with an 11-yard completion to Claypool, a third-and-2 with a 14-yard pass to Eric Ebron, a third-and-10 with a 12-yard pass to JuJu Smith Schuster, and then on second-and-10 from the 11-yard line he threw to Claypool for the touchdown.
7:18 p.m. – What Went Right: Things got off to a good start when Kevin Huber's 50-yard punt was returned 43 yards by Ray-Ray McCloud to allow the offense to start at the Bengals 15-yard line. Ben Roethlisberger converted a third-and-7 with an 8-yard pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster, and then two plays later he hooked up with Chase Claypool for a 5-yard touchdown that upped the Steelers lead to 36-7 with 10:31 left in the fourth quarter.
7:28 p.m. – What Went Wrong: A mental lapse on special teams led to a Randy Bullock field goal that closed the gap to 36-10 with 5:05 remaining. On a fourth-and-6, the Bengals lined up in punt formation, but the ball was snapped to up-back Shaun Williams who ran around the left end for 29 yards for the first down. A sack by Robert Spillane set up a third-and-17, and then Bullock kicked the field goal following an incomplete pass.
FINAL SCORE: Steelers 36, Bengals 10
