While the rain drenched Paul Brown Stadium in Saturday night’s Wild Card Game, the Bengals poured on a break-neck fourth quarter with 16 unanswered points and looked to be headed to their first post-season win in 25 years with 1:50 left when it all imploded emotionally and physically in a gut-wrenching 18-16 loss to the Steelers.
A pair of 15-yard penalties called with 18 seconds left, the last one called on cornerback Adam Jones after an altercation following the 15-yard hit-to-the-head penalty on linebacker Vontaze Burfict resulted in Chris Boswell’s 35-yard field goal with 14 seconds left.
After A.J. Green gave the Bengals a 16-15 lead with 1:50 left on a 25-yard touchdown catch, Burfict made a diving interception at the Steelers 26 to apparently seal it.
But, unbelievably, running back Jeremy Hill fumbled on a ball stripped away by linebacker Ryan Shazier at the Steelers 9 with 1:23 left and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, sidelined by a throwing shoulder injury the entire fourth quarter, returned And the Bengals were down starting safety Reggie Nelson (ankle) and cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick (quad).
Roethlisberger, clearly limited, tried to throw some short screens and work the sidelines. With 28 seconds left from the Steelers 41 he hit wide receiver Antonio Brown for 12 yards out of the slot to put the ball on the Bengals 47 with 22 seconds left.
Then on the next snap, Roethlisberger threw high over the middle to Brown for an incompletion, but Burfict drilled Brown in the head for the first penalty and with Brown injured, Adam Jones got in an altercation with Steelers linebackers coach Joey Porter after the play when Porter went on the field and was also flagged.
After Adam Jones raced 24 yards with a punt, Bengals backup quarterback AJ McCarron got the ball at the Pittsburgh 45 with 3:28 left and was ready to step into history. On fourth-and-two from the 37, he hit wide receiver Marvin Jones over the midde at the two-minute warning for a five-yard play.
On third-and-seven, McCarron pump faked as Green ran by cornerback William Gay. Safety Mike Mitchell bit on the fake and was late getting to a leaping Green at the 1 and Green slithered into the end zone for his first post-season touchdown, a 25-yarder that would have sent the Bengals to New England for Saturday’s AFC Divisional Game.
Click here to read more of this story.
About Marion Online Sports
