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Kevin Huber (10)
watches Bengals kicker Josh Brown celebrate after kicking the game
winning field-goal against Pittsburg Sunday.
Cincinnati Bengals
Bengals beat
Steelers to make playoffs
PITTSBURGH — With a playoff berth on the line Sunday at sun-splashed
Heinz Field, the Bengals got the brilliant defensive effort they needed
with two hellacious red-zone stands in the third quarter that kept the
game tied at 10 and fittingly it was a 21-yard bullet from Andy Dalton
to wide receiver A.J. Green that set up Josh Brown's 43-yard field goal
with four seconds left that gave Cincinnati back to postseason berths
for the first time in 30 years with a numbing 13-10 victory.
It was set up by safety Reggie Nelson's interception at the Steelers 46
with 14 seconds left that culminated one of the greatest defensive
games in Cincinnati's franchise history.
"We were saying in the huddle, 'Just give Andy time and he'll find
somebody,' said center Kyle Cook.
That someone turned out to be the franchise's best player and Green
came through when everyone needed him the most as he finished with a
hard-fought 10 catches for 116 yards against the NFL's top-ranked
defense.
Both Green and Nelson taught the lesson of hanging-with-'em. On the
second snap of the fourth quarter, Green fumbled at the Steelers 28
after a 12-yard pickup. On the Steelers only touchdown, Nelson was
supposed to b;tz in an all-out run at Steelers quarterback Ben
Roethlisberger, but Nelson didn't go and Antonio Brown was able to get
past cornerback Adam Jones for a 60-yard bomb late in the first half,
the result of Jones jumping the route because he thought Roethlisberger
had to hurry.
But Green and Nelson were able to atone in the last 14 seconds.
Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis had so much faith in his defense that
he let Brown try a 56-yard field goal with 3:18 left.
It was far short, giving two-minute maven Roethlisberger a first down
at his 45 and when he scrambled for four yards on third down, it was
the 12th time out of 14 snaps the Bengals won on third down and it set
up Shaun Suisham's 53-yard field goal that was short with 1:47 left.
Read the rest of the article at the Cincinnati Bengals
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