Three Out of Four Quarters

Football is a game composed of four 15-minute quarters. In order to win a game of football, a team must show up and play for the full 15 minutes that compose each of the four quarters. If a team fails to do that, then that team in all likelihood will lose the football game. Today, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals played each other in a game of football. The Steelers played football for 15 minutes in all four quarters. The Bengals played football for 15 minutes in three of the four quarters. The result: a Steelers 42-21 victory over the Bengals after the game got away from the men in the black and orange stripes in the fourth quarter.

This game was a disappointment for Who-Dey Nation as the their beloved Bengals completely collapsed in the final quarter. Despite battling for the first three quarters of the game, the Bengals transformed into the Bungles, their hideous alter ego, and let the Steelers run wild in Paul Brown Stadium.

After the first quarter ended in a 0-0 tie, the Steelers struck first with a 1-yard touchdown catch by Steelers tight end Heath Miller to take a 7-0 lead. The Bengals responded with a touchdown drive of their own when Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton connected with tight end Jermaine Gresham for a 10-yard touchdown pass. The Bengals tacked on seven more points when Dalton scored a rushing touchdown from 20 yards out to take a 14-7 lead. The Steelers kicked a field goal before the half ended to make it 14-10 in favor of the Bengals.

The third quarter was just as competitive as the first two. The Steelers scored the first points of the half when running back Le’Veon Bell caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to take a 17-14 lead. The Bengals responded with their biggest play of the day. Dalton threw an 81-yard bomb that was caught by wide receiver A.J. Green for a touchdown to put the Bengals back on top by a score of 21-17 at the end of the third quarter.

Then the fourth quarter started, and the Bungles made their return to the jungle.

After a Steelers field goal closed the gap to make it a 21-20 game in favor of the Bengals, Dalton fumbled the ball on the next offensive drive. The Steelers recovered the ball and capitalized by scoring a touchdown when Bell ran 13 yards to the end zone. After a successful two-point conversion, the scoreboard read 28-21 in favor of the Steelers. Things got worse when Bengals cornerback Leon Hall got absolutely scorched by Steelers wide receiver Martavis Bryant as he hauled in a pass from Roethlisberger for a 94-yard touchdown to give the Steelers a 35-21 lead. The Steelers added seven more points to their total when Bell scored off a 22-yard run to give the Steelers a 42-21 win over the Bengals.

The fourth quarter was reminiscent of the game against the Thursday night embarrassment against the Cleveland Browns as the Bengals looked awful. The defense allowed the Steelers to score 25 points, and the offense was shutout for the entire quarter. Not only did Dalton fumble, but running back Giovanni Bernard tripped when running a rout and as a result, dropped the ball. Later Mo Sanu dropped a pass that would have given the Bengals a first down. Even Bengals punter Kevin Huber struggled as he shanked a punt out of bounds before it even got to the 50 yard line.

Elsewhere in the AFC North, the Baltimore Ravens defeated the Miami Dolphins to move into a second place tie with the Steelers. Both are now only a half game back of the Bengals for the division lead. The Cleveland Browns, however, lost to the Indianapolis Colts.

Up next for the Bengals is a trip up to Cleveland for round two of the Battle of Ohio against the Browns. This is now a must win game for the Bengals as it will not only put some distance between themselves and their instate AFC North rival, but it will also preserve their half game lead in the division should both the Ravens and the Steelers win. Hopefully the Bengals beat the Browns and get revenge on the Steelers in a way similar to their December 23, 2012, game against Pittsburgh. That was when the Bengals defeated the Steelers to secure a playoff spot as well as knock Pittsburgh out of the playoff race.

Who-Dey!