Steelers Fall To The Bengals at Heinz In 2005
Every true Steelers fan knows of Pittsburgh’s historic run to the Super Bowl title in 2005. A game that is usually lost in the memories of fans is the December matchup at home against the Bengals. The Steelers were at 7-4 and the Bengals at 8-3. Pittsburgh had already defeated the Bengals in Cincinnati so the winner would be in the driver seat for the AFC North.
Pittsburgh won the first blow when Jerome Bettis ran for a touchdown to start 7-0. The Bengals quickly countered with a long TD pass from Carson Palmer. Pittsburgh took back control as Quincy Morgan caught a pass from Big Ben to put it at 14-7. In the second quarter, the Bengals got back on track with two touchdowns, going up 21-17 at the half.
In the third quarter, the Bengals and Steelers traded blows with the Bengals getting three more points out of it to have a one-touchdown lead entering the 4th quarter. Down 31-24, Pittsburgh was orchestrating a strong drive, but Big Ben threw an interception with nine minutes to go. The Bengals capitalized on a Rudi Johnson touchdown run to extend their lead to 38-24.
The Steelers finally got the offense rolling again, scoring on the ensuing drive. In the final minutes, the Steelers held the Bengals to a punt. Pittsburgh got the ball back but they couldn’t escape their own territory. Ben Roethlisberger was sacked on the final play, securing the Bengals the victory.
Steelers Future
The loss was the last straw for Pittsburgh. After hitting rock bottom at 7-5, Pittsburgh won their final five games and went onto win four more in the playoffs. The Steelers headed to Cincinnati in the Wildcard Round and avenged the Bengals. A few weeks later it was finalized that the Super Bowl was headed back to the Steel City.