The Pittsburgh Steelers have defeated their divisional rivals the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football, recording their first win of the season. It was 27-3 for the home team, who was looking much better than in the first few games of this campaign.
In a game which meant so much for both sides, the Steelers showed that they still have one of the best defenses in the conference, by tormenting Andy Dalton and his offensive line. The Bengals’ quarterback was sacked 8 times, for 69 negative yards. There is no doubt that he will remember this game for a long time.
The guests took the lead and were up 3-0 after the end of the first quarter. At that point, the atmosphere at Heinz Field was not very positive. But as soon as James Connor scored the first touchdown for the Steelers, everything changed. It was a 21-yard pass from Mason Rudolph, which the Steelers’ running back converted into a momentum-shifting score.
After that, it was all easy for the home team, who simply demolished the guests. Tyler Boyd, Bengals’ WR admitted that his crew suffered a major humiliation.
“Personally I hate being embarrassed,” Boyd said. “At the end of the day, I can take the losing. But when you go out there and get embarrassed, Monday night, prime time. I got too much pride to go out there and showcase what we showcased. It was just awful overall.”
Cincinnati recorded just 175 yards, compared to 326 of the hosts. Dalton was 21 of 37 for 171 yards, with one interception and two fumbles.
On the other side, Mason Rudolph threw for 229 yards, 24 of 28 with two TDs. Connor totalled up to 125 yards from the scrimmage, having 42 rushing and 83 through the air for one TD. Diontae Johnson, the rookie player also well, collecting 77 yards on 6 receptions for a touchdown.
The special story was Jaylen Samuels, a sophomore who did it all last night. He threw three passes, all completed for 31 yards. Besides that, Samuels produced 26 yards on the ground on 8 carries, and a touchdown and 57 receiving yards.
“We knew if we could get a lot of guys going sideways, it was going to mess them up a little bit, so that’s what we did,” Samuels said. “It was working. … We were picking up five, six yards every play. They couldn’t stop it.”
Apart from Joe Mixon, who rushed for 62 yards, nobody had even an average night among the visiting players.
They are now heading back home, where they host the Arizona Cardinals in the next round. It will be one of the few games in which the Bengals could have a chance to win this season. After that, Cincinnati goes to Baltimore.
The Steelers will play against the Ravens before that. That will be the match which could decide a lot of things when it comes to the final standings in the AFC North division. Right now the Ravens are 3-1, Browns 2-2, and the Steelers 1-3, and if they win here, things are about the be very complicated. A week after that, Mike Tomlin’s crew is going to LA to face the Chargers.
