Pittsburgh Review

The Pittsburgh Steelers were unable to secure the No. 5 seed in the AFC playoffs, falling to the Cincinnati Bengals with a final score of 19-17 at Acrisure Stadium. The game saw Joe Burrow complete 37 of his 46 passes for a total of 277 yards, including one touchdown and an interception.

Cincinnati maintained control throughout much of the game by employing a quick passing strategy that allowed them to dominate possession for nearly 40 minutes. The Bengals executed 71 plays compared to the Steelers' 58. Despite this, Pittsburgh's defense was resilient in the red zone, allowing only one touchdown out of four attempts.

Pittsburgh had an opportunity to clinch victory but failed to convert a first down needed to get into field goal range for a potential game-winning kick. Head coach Mike Tomlin commented on the missed opportunities: "We certainly had our opportunities to win the game, but we didn't," he said. "We've got to own that."

The Steelers now await Sunday's game between the Chargers and Raiders in Las Vegas to determine their playoff fate. A loss by Los Angeles would send them to Houston as the No. 5 seed; otherwise, they will face Baltimore.

As they enter postseason play after four consecutive losses, Tomlin stressed improvement: "We are in a single-elimination tournament now, so we better turn our attention toward playing good football and better than we have particularly in recent weeks."

The Bengals took an early lead with Burrow connecting on a touchdown pass to Ja'Marr Chase. Despite efforts from Pittsburgh's Russell Wilson and Najee Harris, who scored on a short run, Cincinnati maintained its advantage through strategic plays and field goals by Cade York.

Late-game efforts by Pittsburgh included Wilson's no-huddle offense drive culminating in Pat Freiermuth's touchdown catch. However, despite recovering a fumble late in the fourth quarter leading to Chris Boswell's field goal narrowing Cincinnati's lead, Pittsburgh could not complete their comeback attempt.

Wilson ended with 148 passing yards and one touchdown. Freiermuth led receiving efforts with eight catches for 85 yards.