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| Le'Veon Bell was involved in all aspects of the game. He recorded 57 rushing yards and a touchdown in addition to 50 receiving yards. |
Cory Puffett
In the spirit of Christmas, the Vikings and Dolphins were
giving out presents on Sunday. Minnesota beat the Eagles to give the Cowboys a
chance to take back control of their NFC East destiny. The Cowboys got the gift
receipt at halftime of their game against the Packers and returned it.
The Dolphins beat the Patriots to give Cincinnati the
opportunity to take control of the AFC #2 seed in the playoff picture, but the
Bengals also decided to return the gift in their 30-20 loss to AFC North rival
Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh’s win prevents the Bengals from locking up the
division regardless of the outcome of Monday night’s game between the Ravens
and Lions.
Cincinnati could not find a rhythm early in Sunday night’s
contest. The wind got hold of a punt snap and the punter was tackled just
outside the goal line, allowing the Steelers to punch it in for a touchdown.
More good field position led the Steelers to another
touchdown before Antonio Brown returned a punt 67 yards to put his team up 21-0
at the end of the first quarter.
The Bengals settled down from then on. The defense did their
job and the offense played pretty well. They only had one three-and-out in
their last seven drives of the game.
The Bengals can clinch the AFC North title next week with a
win against Minnesota if the Ravens lose in Detroit on Monday or against New
England next week. The Bengals had been struggling with consistency until their
last three games when they seemed to pick up the pieces and put them back
together. Sunday night’s loss will raise many questions about this team’s
potential for a playoff run.
For Pittsburgh, I will have to look for confirmation but I believe
their season ended when Miami beat New England earlier on Sunday. Even though
two wins for Pittsburgh and two losses for Miami would put both at 8-8, Miami
won a December 8 matchup giving them the head-to-head tiebreaker. So even if
they push past both Baltimore and San Diego, I do not believe there is any way
they can grab the sixth seed in the AFC.
Final Score:
Cincinnati Bengals – 20
Pittsburgh Steelers – 30
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