by Bo Marchionte
Cincinnati – Mike Tomlin improved to 10-6 on opening day of the football season, after kicker Chris Boswell hit the game winning field goal as time expired in overtime to lift the Steelers 23-20 over Cincinnati.
“I knew as soon as I hit it and looked up,” Boswell said. “I hit it straight and it was going in.”
Boswell put the final touches on one of the wildest endings in the game.
Joe Burrow led the Bengals down the Pittsburgh six yard with two seconds left in regulation. He connected with Ja’Marr Chase for touchdown to tie the game 20-20 as time expired in the fourth quarter.
With Mr. Clutch Evan McPherson the teams Cinderella kicker from last year’s Super Bowl, awaited the snap to seal the deal for Cincinnati. All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick blocked the extra point attempt, preventing the Bengals from walking off the field victors.
The awe dropping Burrow to Chase last second heroics should have lifted the Bengals to victory. Now overtime would provide another quarter to settle the score.
Overtime assumed and once again the Bengals found themselves with a golden opportunity to win three straight games against the Steelers. McPherson lined up this time for a 37-yard field goal. It went left of the upright.
Boswell got to redeem himself after his first game winning attempt with 2:27 left in overtime bounced off the goalpost. Going 3-4 in the game, Boswell felt comfortable if another opportunity arose, he’d be able to deliver.
“I wished I did, and I hoped I did,” Boswell said about having a second chance to make good on his only miscue of the game.
The Steelers where completely demoralization last year in Cincinnati. The 41-10 trouncing marked the second largest defeat to Cincinnati since another 41-10 loss, in 1989.
“We can’t keep playing like this,” said T.J. Watt after the loss last year. “It’s absolutely embarrassing.”
Steelers outside linebacker Alex Highsmith admitted that there was in fact a residue of that defeat that lingered when arriving to play the Bengals in Week 1.
“We had a bad taste in our mouth,” Highsmith said.
“Actually, we had a chip on our shoulder because of it. We knew we were better than that the last two times (they played). We knew we had the team to come in here and get a W and we did.”
Cam Heyward sacked Burrow on the Bengals opening drive.
Fitzpatrick followed up the next play with his fourth pick-six of his career. His 31-yard interception return ignited an early Steelers run that they were barely able to hold on to against the defending AFC North champions.
“I think the goal for us was to come out and start fast,” Highsmith said. “The last two time we came we didn’t start fast, and the scoreboard reflected that. Today we started fast, and the scoreboard reflected that.”
The Bengals where trailing 17-3, by the middle of the second quarter due to the impactful play by the Steelers defense. Eventually Burrow and company would battle back and make this another fantastically hard-fought showdown in the arguably the NFL’s toughest division.
“They’re a divisional team,” Bengals receiver Tyler Boyd said postgame. “They always play hard, and they made more plays than us.”
With so many new faces both rookies and free agents, Tomlin felt it was only appropriate to hand out game balls to all newcomers this off-season who helped in providing the Steelers their Week 1 win.
“It’s a good to come here, in a hostile environment and not blink,” Tomlin said at the podium afterwards.
“Particularly the number of new guys – whether they were rookies or new to us. I just gave all the new guy’s game balls. The guys that have been here before, there is a certain expectation. They know what the standard of expectation is, but I can’t say enough about the new guys and how they came alongside us and fought as if they’ve been here.”
With so many questions surrounding Pittsburgh the leg up on the Bengals is surely a welcomed win they can savor until New England arrives next Sunday at Acrisure Stadium.
Photo Credit Frank Hyatt