Cincinnati Bengals rally to beat Pittsburgh Steelers and stay undefeated
Monday 2 November 2015 10:07, UK
Ben Roethlisberger was intercepted twice in the fourth quarter as the Cincinnati Bengals rallied for a 16-10 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.
The win, which was made possible by Andy Dalton's touchdown pass to AJ Green with 2:57 to go, keeps the Bengals undefeated and in command of the AFC North.
The Bengals are 7-0 for the first time in their history and have a comfortable lead in their division.
The defending AFC North champion Steelers (4-4) hoped that Roethlisberger's return after missing four games with a sprained knee would kick-start them. After leading most of the game, they fell apart in the closing minutes.
Shawn Williams' diving sideline interception at the Pittsburgh 45-yard line set up Dalton's nine-yard touchdown pass to Green. Reggie Nelson's second interception set up Mike Nugent's 44-yard field goal with 1:47 to go.
The Steelers drove to the Cincinnati 16-yard line with four seconds left, but Roethlisberger's pass went out of the end zone to finish it.
In addition to falling to .500, the Steelers lost running back Le'Veon Bell indefinitely to a knee injury. Bell twisted his right knee beneath him as he was tackled in the second quarter and had to be carted off the field. Coach Mike Tomlin said after the game that Bell was being evaluated.
Roethlisberger completed four of five passes during an opening 80-yard touchdown drive. His one-yard toss to Antonio Brown capped a seven-minute, 14-second possession - the kind of drive Pittsburgh had trouble pulling off in his absence.
The Steelers managed only one field goal the rest of the way.
The Bengals wasted several scoring chances in the second half as Pittsburgh's defence tried to hold on.
Cameron Heyward blocked Nugent's 42-yard field goal try late in the third quarter, and the defence picked off Dalton twice in the fourth quarter. After Cincinnati got a first-and-goal at the five early in the fourth quarter, Antwon Blake intercepted Dalton's third-down pass in the end zone and returned it 42 yards.
Dalton came into the game leading the NFL in passer rating and fourth-quarter rating. He managed to pull off the short touchdown drive that decided the game, making a 23-yard shovel pass to Giovani Bernard while scrambling on a third-down play to set up the score.
