Pittsburgh 24, Cincinnati 13

[BengalszoneBilly]

The ONE play that defines the game...

Pittsburgh 24, Cincinnati 13

By JOE KAY, AP Sports Writer

October 28, 2007

AP - Oct 28, 2:59 pm EDT

CINCINNATI (AP) -- With a chance to make a statement, the Cincinnati Bengals backed down and went for a field goal. Their demur decision said it all.

Hines Ward caught a pair of touchdown passes, and the Pittsburgh Steelers turned Marvin Lewis' conservative coaching decision into the pivotal moment of a 24-13 victory Sunday, their seventh straight in Cincinnati.

From the top down, it was another case of down-the-river domination.

The Steelers (5-2) solidified their hold on first place in the AFC North and pushed the last-place Bengals to the precipice. The Bengals are 2-5 for the first time since 2004, Carson Palmer's first season as the starting quarterback.

Trace this one to the sideline.

The Steelers took control during the closing minutes of the first half, when the teams showed there's a big difference in how they define themselves.

Heading into the game, defensive captain John Thornton said the Bengals had to put on their "big boy pads" and match the Steelers' moxie. With a chance to do it, they flinched.

Trailing 14-3, the Bengals drove to a fourth-and-1 from just inside the 2-yard line with 2:16 left in the first half. They called a timeout to talk it over, then decided to kick a field goal rather than flex some muscle.

Shayne Graham's 20-yard kick had barely cleared the uprights when the stadium-record crowd of 66,188 started booing, an instant and emphatic second-guess.

Pittsburgh's response? A gutsy touchdown.

The Steelers drove to the Bengals' 1-yard line with 8 seconds to go, then gave the ball to Willie Parker, who had 126 yards overall. Parker dived into the end zone, popped up and flexed both arms in a muscleman pose.

His guys know how to flaunt it.

They also know how to count.

For the second straight game, the Bengals had trouble getting 11 players on defense. They had only 10 on the field for Ward's 21-yard touchdown catch -- no defender was even close to the former Super Bowl MVP.

Ward, who missed two games this season with a knee injury, also had a diving 6-yard touchdown catch, his third of the season and the 61st of his career, trailing John Stallworth by two for the club record.

Ben Roethlisberger was 19-of-26 for 230 yards with one costly mistake, a forced interception at Cincinnati's 18-yard line midway through the third quarter. With their season on the line, the Bengals put together a 17-play drive culminating in T.J. Houshmandzadeh's 9-yard touchdown catch that made it 21-13.

Pittsburgh had another in-your-face response, draining the clock while driving to Jeff Reed's 40-yard field goal with 6:09 left. Ward had catches of 11 and 13 yards during the 11-play drive, and finished with eight catches for 88 yards.

Kenny Watson's fumble at Pittsburgh's 16-yard line with 3:16 left ended the Bengals' chances of an improbable comeback.

[volcom69]

I wonder how many guys on this team beleive in the head coach now after this. Cant get enough men on the field, wont go for it when they really needed points. To me i wonder how much faith he has in the guys and much faith the guys have in him. Ive lost faith in Marvin and i wish him well, but i really dont want him back next year i wanna win and i wanna win now and he has proved to me that he cant win. Good coaches find ways to win even when players are injured, but he has not showed that since hes been here. Im tired of this medocore team and i think the fans deserve much better then what hes putting on the field.

[cmac]

Amen brother.

Enough is enough, these guys have no pride at all.

[BengalszoneBilly]

Amen brother.

Enough is enough, these guys have no pride at all.

None. Zero. Zip. To have a chance to make a real statement in the division, and to opt for a stinkin' FG? It boils down to small balls. Tiny. Miniscule!

[membengal]

I am sure Marvin will have his usual bevy of excuses and non-answers for the reporters.

But, I am positive of this, he has done a woeful job coaching this year. Absolutely abominable. There is no way, even with the injuries, that team should be 2-5. None. Really, piss poor work by Lewis and his staff.

[rwalling]

At a minimum, Donnie Henderson should be defensive coordinator next week. Bresnahan's preparation of his unit is unacceptable. Marvin's acceptance of Bresnahan's work is what I can't accept from him.

[Stripes]

I suspect I'll be in the minority defending Marvin and Chuck throughout the week, but I do agree that the choice to kick the short field goal was a bad one.

Nothing I'm going to scream for firings about, but it was a bad decision.

[WhoDey93285]

I suspect I'll be in the minority defending Marvin and Chuck throughout the week, but I do agree that the choice to kick the short field goal was a bad one.

Nothing I'm going to scream for firings about, but it was a bad decision.

What would you scream for firings about?

It can't be argued that Chuck and Marvin have failed MISERABLY at their respective jobs dating back to last season, and even prior. The facts are there. Last time I checked, failing at your job means you're subject to removal. I'm just curious as to why you insist on defending failures?

[Stripes]

I suspect I'll be in the minority defending Marvin and Chuck throughout the week, but I do agree that the choice to kick the short field goal was a bad one.

Nothing I'm going to scream for firings about, but it was a bad decision.

What would you scream for firings about?

It can't be argued that Chuck and Marvin have failed MISERABLY at their respective jobs dating back to last season, and even prior. The facts are there. Last time I checked, failing at your job means you're subject to removal. I'm just curious as to why you insist on defending failures?

Failure doesn't occur without cause. I look at the cause, not the effect.

I don't believe the last two seasons would have progressed much differently with other coaches who were available during the '06 offseason, if in-game injury circumstance remained similar.

[membengal]

Marvin's a cause at this point.

That's enough for me.

He should be fired.

[damiancasey]

I suspect I'll be in the minority defending Marvin and Chuck throughout the week, but I do agree that the choice to kick the short field goal was a bad one.

Nothing I'm going to scream for firings about, but it was a bad decision.

What would you scream for firings about?

It can't be argued that Chuck and Marvin have failed MISERABLY at their respective jobs dating back to last season, and even prior. The facts are there. Last time I checked, failing at your job means you're subject to removal. I'm just curious as to why you insist on defending failures?

Failure doesn't occur without cause. I look at the cause, not the effect.

I don't believe the last two seasons would have progressed much differently with other coaches who were available during the '06 offseason, if in-game injury circumstance remained similar.

Agree with you. May be worth while to ask what the root cause of the injuries are...bad luck? ...or some systemic issues?

[HoosierCat]

I suspect I'll be in the minority defending Marvin and Chuck throughout the week, but I do agree that the choice to kick the short field goal was a bad one.

Nothing I'm going to scream for firings about, but it was a bad decision.

I guess, but in the end it didn't matter. Go for the TD instead of the easy three...and it's either 24-10 or 24-27 Steelers in he end. An L is an L is an L.

If I'm going to call for anyone's head this week, it would be Brat's. Once again our gold-plated, diamond-encrusted super-de-duper offense couldn't score.

Sorry I'm late to the party, router blew out Saturday night...

[BengalByTheBay]

I suspect I'll be in the minority defending Marvin and Chuck throughout the week, but I do agree that the choice to kick the short field goal was a bad one.

Nothing I'm going to scream for firings about, but it was a bad decision.

I guess, but in the end it didn't matter. Go for the TD instead of the easy three...and it's either 24-10 or 24-27 Steelers in he end. An L is an L is an L.

If I'm going to call for anyone's head this week, it would be Brat's. Once again our gold-plated, diamond-encrusted super-de-duper offense couldn't score.

Sorry I'm late to the party, router blew out Saturday night...

You didn't miss much.

[Ox]

I'm not sure what was worse, watching the game from my seats, or reading about it here when I got home...... Or at this point having season tickets....

[HoosierCat]

I'm not sure what was worse, watching the game from my seats, or reading about it here when I got home...... Or at this point having season tickets....

Well, I can tell you it wasn't any fun watching it on TV either.

Two points I haven't seen mentioned. One, not to play the "blame the refs" game but I thought the officiating sucked. Ben's heave into the stands was clearly grounding...not called. Holt got horsecollared out of bounds on a return...not called. And the Pitt o-line was holding, blatently, on too many plays to count. And then of course there was the non-catch catch early.

Two, is it just me or is Palmer morphing into Drew Bledsoe? I mean, I know he's not a mobile QB, but he's become a freaking statue. And he holds onto the ball forever. I thought the o-line did a hell of a job considering they had to give him 20-30 minutes every play to get rid of the ball. I don't know how many times I was screaming "throw the ball, Palmer!" during the game but it was a lot.

[ShulaSteakhouse]

I'm not sure what was worse, watching the game from my seats, or reading about it here when I got home...... Or at this point having season tickets....

Well, I can tell you it wasn't any fun watching it on TV either.

Two points I haven't seen mentioned. One, not to play the "blame the refs" game but I thought the officiating sucked. Ben's heave into the stands was clearly grounding...not called. Holt got horsecollared out of bounds on a return...not called. And the Pitt o-line was holding, blatently, on too many plays to count. And then of course there was the non-catch catch early.

Two, is it just me or is Palmer morphing into Drew Bledsoe? I mean, I know he's not a mobile QB, but he's become a freaking statue. And he holds onto the ball forever. I thought the o-line did a hell of a job considering they had to give him 20-30 minutes every play to get rid of the ball. I don't know how many times I was screaming "throw the ball, Palmer!" during the game but it was a lot.

Meh I think you're giving the refs too much credit for bad calls, but I agree the refs didn't help. And Palmer willed that team down the field at times yesterday with good throw after good throw - if anything I think he's been getting rid of the ball too early. My question with him is his intangibles and leadership qualities - he's too quiet and soft, and I agree, he's become Bledsoe fast and that's not good, considering the direction Bledsoe went in late in his career. Palmer needs to get back to airing it out and using his superior physical talent - instead of thinking too much and operating like Kitna or Bledsoe in the pocket.

Not sure why they're running the ball at the end of the game either nor using 2 RB's more often - instead they run Watson until he's crippled and fumbles, and did the same to Rudi. It's like Dusty Baker and pitchers out there.

But let's face it, Palmer has no threat at TE to mix into the game plan, was missing his #1 RB, the last two #2 Rb's they drafted, his pro bowl RT, and his field stretching #3 star in Henry once again. His center is poor (got schooled bad by Hampton yesterday), his LG is playing out of position, his RT is as bad as his below average center, and his #1 WR has become a head case.

I don't really see how this offense is so great anymore - the Bengals' FO has not done enough to give Palmer enough weapons and protection - there's no depth at all - and they've not added any upgrades in talent - instead down-grading at several positions on the line, and relying on beat up old vets.

The ST's lost their 4-5 best players the last 3 years in coverage, and the defensive scheme let's teams control the clock and go for long drives successfully more often than not. They can't stop anybody and are at the bottom of the league again.

You can't win with the league's worst defense, you will not win anything on a consistent basis other than a fluke season like '05 with that defense and a degrading offense.

This team is a mess again. They will have to make some tough, bold moves this off-season if they want to salvage things quickly.

[HairOnFire]

Two, is it just me or is Palmer morphing into Drew Bledsoe? I mean, I know he's not a mobile QB, but he's become a freaking statue. And he holds onto the ball forever. I thought the o-line did a hell of a job considering they had to give him 20-30 minutes every play to get rid of the ball. I don't know how many times I was screaming "throw the ball, Palmer!" during the game but it was a lot.

You're serious? Bledsoe?

Palmer wasn't sacked once the entire game, often due to his ability to slide around the pocket and avoid contact....so all I can figure is the comparison is based upon them both being white guys standing 6'5".

I think a far better comparison would be the version of Drew Brees who started this season so conservatively the Saint offense became totally ineffective. At the time Brees was criticized for playing too much by the book or too readily taking whatever the defense was giving him instead of repeatedly attacking a defense with his own strengths. Almost overnight it seemed a high powered Saint offense couldn't move the ball consistently or score points in any quantity...let alone force the shootouts that might compensate for a bad defense. Sound familiar?

For example, remember when the announces commented at halftime about how both starting QB's combined had thrown only 4 incompletions? For all of that, and a pretty effective running game, Cincy only had 6 points. Worse, it's been this way all season with the exception of the Cleveland game. Throw that one out and the Bengals are scoring 19.7 points per game.....strictly middle of the pack stuff. (16th or 17th ranked)