The Cincinnati Bengals wanted a win on Saturday night time to maintain their playoff hopes alive going into the ultimate day of the common season. They obtained it within the type of a 19-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Now they need to hope for a Denver Broncos and Miami Dolphins loss on Sunday.
Listed here are some takeaways from their win.
Knee-jerk response: The Steelers are in hassle
Whereas the Bengals preserving their playoff hopes alive is critical, they nonetheless want a number of assist and are removed from a positive factor to make the playoffs.
The Steelers are within the playoffs, they usually wanted to indicate one thing on Saturday after three straight ugly losses to contenders.
Defensively, they did. They restricted one of many league’s greatest offenses and an MVP-caliber quarterback to solely 19 factors, pressured a turnover and sacked Joe Burrow a number of instances.
It was a successful effort from that aspect of the ball.
Sadly for the Steelers, their offense utterly wasted it, struggling to generate any constant offense towards one of many worst defenses in soccer.
George Pickens dropped three passes, Russell Wilson led one of many ugliest two-minute drives possible, they usually did nothing as a bunch to indicate they may compete at a championship degree on the most important stage towards top-tier competitors.
If the protection performs this manner subsequent week, that might be adequate to offer them an opportunity towards both Houston or Baltimore.
The offense enjoying at this degree will give them an opportunity towards no person.
That has to scare them at an important time of the season.
Recreation MVP: Joe Burrow, quarterback, Cincinnati Bengals
This was removed from Burrow’s greatest recreation of the season, and the absence of working again Chase Brown (and later broad receiver Tee Higgins) definitely harm, but it surely was nonetheless a formidable exhibiting by Burrow to assist his group in a must-win recreation.
He was sensational on the sport’s first two drives, leading to 10 fast factors, and despite the fact that he was beneath stress many of the night time, his elusiveness and talent to keep away from the frenzy helped hold some drives alive.
He would not all the time have to put up MVP numbers to play like an MVP.
That was the case on Saturday.
Turning level: Bengals cease the Steelers on fourth down earlier than halftime
The Steelers had an opportunity to get factors earlier than halftime and doubtlessly take the lead going into the break.
However a chaotic sequence of occasions that noticed them get stopped on two quick yardage performs, together with on a fourth down play deep in their very own territory, gave the Bengals a brief discipline to work with beneath a minute to play.
They ended up kicking a discipline aim on the ultimate play of the half to take a 13-7 lead.
These three factors ended up being vital.
They have been arrange by one of many Bengals’ largest defensive performs of the season.
Goat of the sport: George Pickens, broad receiver, Pittsburgh Steelers
Pickens is a headache for the Steelers.
He’s their most gifted playmaker on offense and the one man that may flip a recreation for them.
However he additionally makes too many psychological errors and is inconsistent along with his means to get open and make contested catches. He was terrible on Saturday, dropping three passes, together with a deep ball down the sidelines that might have set the Steelers up for factors.
They want him to be a key participant for them to win. They want him within the lineup. In addition they want greater than what they obtained from him on Saturday.
