The Cincinnati Bengals nipped the Steelers, 33-31, in a wild shootout that was decided by an Evan McPherson 36-yard field goal with seven seconds left.
And even after that, Aaron Rodgers’ Hail Mary heave into the Bengals’ end zone was batted away by the Bengals with no time on the clock, and the Steelers walked off losing an AFC North game.
Rodgers passed for 244 yards and four touchdowns, while Jaylen Warren rushed for 127 yards on 16 carries and Pat Freiermuth caught four passes for 106 yards to lead the Steelers statistically.
Joe Flacco, acquired from the Cleveland Browns 10 days ago for a mere swap of Day Three draft picks, led the Bengals back from a 10-0 deficit in passing for 342 yards. His primary receiver, Ja’Marr Chase, had 16 receptions for 161 yards and a touchdown. Chase Brown led the Bengals with 108 yards on 11 carries.
The Steelers jumped out first with a 10-yard Rodgers touchdown pass to Jonnu Smith to cap the game’s opening possession. The key play of the drive was a 39-yard deep ball to DK Metcalf down the right sideline on third-and-11. On third-and-6, Rodgers dropped back into a clean pocket, rolled left, and then rolled right before throwing a dart to Smith in the end zone for the 7-0 lead with 10:51 left in the opening quarter. (Next Gen Stats reported that Rodgers had 8.6 seconds to throw.)
The Steelers added a 41-yard Chris Boswell field goal early in the second quarter for a 10-0 lead. Unfortunately, the Steelers might’ve had more had it not been for multiple penalties. The Steelers settled for the field goal with 10:26 left in the half.