The Bengals entered week 3 sitting at .500, with a win against the Vikings and a loss to the Bears. Although early in the season, this game was an important one in many ways. Not only is it a divisional matchup, but beating a longtime rival in their building could serve as a major confidence boost for a young team.
Things started out slowly for both offences, as the Bengals punted on their first two drives, while the Steelers punted once and committed a turnover. It was the Bengals that struck first, taking advantage of good starting field position. Ja’Marr Chase got things going early in the drive with a 15 yard catch, before another completion to Boyd set them up deep in Pittsburgh territory. From the 17 yard line, Burrow hit Boyd once again. He bounced off a tackle at the 10 yard line and proceeded to dive into the end zone for the score. 7-0 Bengals.
After one more punt by each team, it was Pittsburgh’s turn to answer. The Steelers went on a 15 play drive that lasted 8:32. They had to go 86 yards down the field. Najee Harris, Juju Smith-Schuster, and Chase Claypool all had a play with some chunk yardage on this drive. On 1st & Goal from the 4, Ben Roethlisberger found Pat Freiermuth in the end zone for the TD, tying the game at 7 with 1:04 left in the half.
With little time remaining in the half, the offence wasted no time. Burrow started off with a 7 yard completion to Boyd before drawing a 15 yard roughing the passer penalty on the next play. On the next play, Burrow hit Mike Thomas in the middle of the field for 19 yards. After calling a timeout to stop the clock with 43 seconds left, the Bengals decided it was time to take a shot deep. That call paid off, as Burrow found Ja’Marr Chase deep down the left sideline for a 34 yard TD. Chase’s 3rd deep TD in three games. That made the score 14-7, which is how it was at half time.
Carrying over the momentum from the end of the 1st half, The Bengals went on another long drive. This lasted 10 plays and took 6:13 off the clock. The two longest plays on the dive both came from backups. First, it was a 14 yard catch by Auden Tate. Then, it was another 14 yard pass, this time to Chris Evans. Unfortunately, the drive stalled on the Pittsburgh 25, but McPherson was able to make the 43 yard attempt. 17-7 Bengals.
The defence continued their strong performance. The DL was creating constant pressure and Logan Wilson picked up his second interception of the day.
Starting in Pittsburgh territory again, the Bengals only had to go 19 yards to get into the end zone. Burrow’s 8 yard run got the Bengals inside the 10 and on the next play, Burrow found Chase for the 9 yard score. It was Chase’s 2nd of the game, and 4th in three games to start his rookie year.
After kicking a field goal, the Steelers were once again driving the ball down the field. Down 24-10, it was crunch time for them. Roethlisberger helped lead his offence all the way down to the Cincinnati 11 yard line. However, a big 4th down stop essentially ended their hopes of a comeback.
This win for the Bengals was a statement win. It was important, not only to get the divisional win, but to get it over a team that has been a thorn in their side for so long. It is a great momentum builder for the team to build on. Now sitting at 2-1, the Bengals will take on the Jaguars in Cincinnati on Thursday Night Football.
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