Steelers Come Out Of The Blocks Quickly To Beat Bengals 30-20
Roethlisberger was sharp. Antonio Brown was impressive with a returned punt and catching a TD all in just over a minute of the first quarter. Shaun Suisham added some icing to the cake with his three field goals. He was responsible for 12 of those 30 points. The special teams play was also particularly impressive. At one point in the game, the Steelers led the Bengals by 24 points. In fact, the 21 points in the first quarter were the most for the Steelers in the fist 15 minutes since they scored 21 points in 2004 against New England.
Yet, while the win was impressive, we know this game should be placed into the " to little to late" file. Having said that, it shows the Steelers have not given up on the season.
The Numbers:
- Roethlisberger was 20/25 for 191 yards, one TD and one interception. Notice the pattern as pointed out by Ron Cammarata (contributor to this blog). The Steelers wins have come on Ben throwing for less than 300 yards. When he exceeded that total, the Steelers have a losing record this season.
- Ben came into the game with 189 straight passes without an interception. His streak ended last night at 207.
- Bell rushed for 57 yards on 24 attempts. He also had 5 receptions for 50 yards.
- Antonio Brown had one receiving TD and one rushing TD. He rushed for 66 yards on 5 receptions.
- Sanders ended the game with 38 yards on 5 receptions followed by Miller with 35 yards on 4 receptions.
- Ziggy Hood captured one sack.
- Third down efficiency was a weak 20%.
- Fourth down efficiency was 100%.
- Penalties: 4-25 and no fumbles lost.
- Red zone efficiency was 50%.
The Steelers next meet the Packers at Green Bay on Sunday, Dec. 22, 2013, at 4:25 p.m. ET
Fox Sports, Steelers.com, Yahoo Sports
