Should have went to the game: Steelers win first road game in Cincinnati 24-17

Steeler Nation walked all over Cincinnati liked they owned it this weekend.  They were wearing Steeler jerseys, Steelers sweatshirts, Steelers hats and black-and-gold chips on their shoulders.  A misguided Bungles fan saw my shirt from afar and said: "Who Dey?" with a innocent, but cheerful smile.  I looked at him with pitty, but flatly stated a fact: "We Dey" -- and wondered to myself, "is that really a question?"  

John "Frenchy" Fuqua told a Cincinnati television station on Saturday: "It's embarrassing having thousands of fans come to your city and kick your butt."  I don't know if I would have put it quite like that Frenchy, but the Steelers (3-3) did get the best of the Bungles (3-4) with a 24-17 win in Cincinnati in primetime on Sunday night.  It was Pittsburgh's first road win in four tries for 2012.

Although, the game was played in Cincinnati, only 4 miles from the Steeler Face's apartment in the Queen City, and tickets were as cheap as $27 a pop, the Face did not attend Sunday's game.  The ostensible reasons for this decision were the 2 inch vertical tear in my left achilles (discovered through an MRI at Paul Brown Stadium) and an 8 a.m. meeting at work the next day.  However, the real reason was my desire to support my baseball team, the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 6 of the NLCS.  I should have went to the Steelers game, as Pittsburgh came up with a satisfying win and gave new life to the 2012-13 season.

Shaun Suisham continues to have a fantastic year, as he nailed three 40+ yard field goals on the night (and is now 14 of 15 on the season).   His only miss was a ridiculous 54-yard try against Tennessee that Coach Tomlin never should have even tried.  Suisham's first kick of the night against Cincinnati put the Steelers up 3-0 in the first quarter.

However, Cincinnati went through the Steeler D like a hot knife through butter on its first drive, prompting Pat of the Michigan Bureau to text: "ziggy hood = bust."  The Bengals scored a TD on their first possession to claim a 7-3 lead.  Things were about to get more frustrating for the Steelers.

As Pat and I were bitching about Kevin Colbert's poor judgment in drafting Ziggy Hood with a first round pick, Mike Wallace dropped a pass near midfield that literally hit him at the exact point between the 1 and 7 on his jersey.  Later in the same drive Baron Batch dropped a pass from WR Antonio Brown on a trick play that floated perfectly between his hands as he jogged all alone toward the goal line.  On the next play, Ben was intercepted in the end zone.

On the Steelers next possession Big Ben fumbled as he was attempting a pass, which set the Bengals up inside the Steelers 10 yard line.  I say Ben was "attempting a pass" because his arm was going forward when the ball came out.  So called "elite QBs" usually get the benefit of this call; however, that benefit is trumped by the "screw-the-Steeelers" clause in the NFL rulebook (and the east-coast-media-elite's warped perception that Big Ben is not an elite QB).  On their next play Cincinnati scored a touchdown and led 14-3 with 8:29 to go before halftime.  

Pittsburgh moved the ball back down field as Jonathan Dwyer did his best "Bus" impersonation by initiating contact with helpless Bungles defenders downfield in the spirit of Jerome Bettis.  Dwyer had his best game of the season carrying the rock 17 times for 122 yards.  What could have been a great drive for the Steelers turned into just an okay one when Mike "contract year" Wallace dropped ANOTHER pass (which looked like to me that he did it on purpose) in the end zone.  In the Steeler Face's post-game analysis via Skype with the Michigan Bureau, Pat said in Wallace's defense that he thought the ball was tipped; to which, Heather quickly added "you may have a point there Pat."  That is unshakable evidence about the accuracy of Pat's observation, and may indicate that the Steeler Face was too hard on Wallace (probably because he is on my fantasy team, and I was feeling pretty bitchy after the Cardinals loss to S.F.).  Another Suisham field goal made the score 14-6.


You ask for a miracle?  I give you the Cincinnati Bungles.  On the next Bengals possession, Andy Dalton threw, perhaps, the worst pass ever, giving LaMarr Woodley an easy INT and the Steelers 1st and 10 at Cincinnati's 29 yard line with 1:23 left in the second quarter.  Big Ben cashed in a with TD pass to Heath Miller, and then connected with Heath again for the 2-point conversion to tie the score at 14-14 at the half.  Miller continued his remarkable season collecting 6 receptions on the night for 53 yards, the TD, and the 2 point conversion.

After the Bengals and Steelers traded field goals in the third quarter, the Steeler Face began to ponder the 8 a.m. meeting with his boss that was looming the next day and the baseball Cardinals collapse in the NLCS.  And then . . . there was a Ziggy Hood sighting when he batted down a helpless Dalton pass to force a punt!  A Chris Rainey 12-yard touchdown run on the Steelers next possession gave Pittsburgh a 24-17 fourth quarter lead--and set up an all too familiar scenario where the Steeler defense fails to get off the field.

However, the Steelers defense did something they had yet to do in the fourth quarter on the road this season -- get off the field on third down.  Pittsburgh actually stopped Cincinnati on four consecutive possessions, including a big play by BIG SNACK Casey Hampton (whom I'd forgotten played for the Steelers this season).  And as a result of playing defense in the fourth quarter -- the Steelers won -- and the Steeler Face enjoyed an icy cold Iron City to wash it all down with at the game's end.

The win moves the Steelers (3-3) into second place in the AFC North behind the Baltimore Haters (5-2), who suffered a brutal pounding by the Houston Texas Texans of Texas.  The Bungles fall to 3-4 after losing their third straight contest . . . and the Brownie Elves are still in the NFL I think.

Enjoy this one Steeler Nation.