Cincinnati Bengals 28, Steelers 20
Game Ball: Bengals wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh, whose acrobatic touchdown reception gave the Bengals the lead.
Play of the Game: Either Houshmandzadeh's TD reception or Bengals safety Kevin Kaesviham's interception in the last minute of the game, which ended the Steelers final drive.
Steelers Grades:
Coaching: B...it looked as if the coaches called a decent game, but the players simply couldn't execute and produce.
QB: D...Ben Roethlisberger looked more than simply rusty...he looked as if he lacked confidence and has a way to go before he's in top form.
Running Game: B...Willie Parker looked solid (31 carries, 133 yards), but Verron Haynes isn't the answer for the team's #2 back; his 4th quarter fumble resulted in a Bengals TD.
Passing Game: B-...WR Cedric Wilson and TE Heath Miller each had a productive game, but WR Santonio Holmes and superstar WR Hines Ward were pretty much non-factors. Big Ben's 3 interceptions were also quite costly (he was 18/39 for the day with 0 TD passes).
Defense: D...Bengals QB Carson Palmer threw 2 TD passes inside of a minute; the Bengals scored 28 points, a surprisingly high number for a Steelers opponent.
Special Teams: D...horrible. Absolutely terrible. Punt returner Ricardo Colclough's devastating fumble resulted in a Bengals TD. This unit has to improve tremendously for the Steelers to have any hope of season success.
Bengals analysis: While they didn't play perfectly and the Steelers could have won the game, they got the job done and did what is most necessary for a successful team: take advantage of your opponent's mistakes. They're not the best in the NFL or even the AFC, but they are a very good team with a very good coach and some real talent (I hate writing that).
4 comments:
I watched the Redskins. They looked better, but they were
playing the Texans. I'm sure
all the NFL teams would like to
play them. I wonder if they'll
win a game this year. Their
defense is terrible.
Seatle was impressive yesterday.
Yes, Seattle looked very good. so did Indy. And Brett Favre, God bless him.
Houston will be better in a year or two, I think, but Reggie Bush sure would have helped.
I expect Atlanta to crush the Saints tonight, even though emotions will be high for the Saints (and they'll have the support of the great U2, who are performing at the game).
Houston was crazy to let Bush pass
by.
I think Atlanta will win tonight.
I like watching Vick.
The game was tough to watch here with my youth group kids, who are all Bengals fans. I've been talking ridiculous amounts of trash over the past 3 months. It really really was not a good time. We should have won that game...we gave it away. I'd give the defense a higher score than a D...they blitzed Palmer to bits at one point, and giving up a TD after the Bengals got the ball inside the 10...not a lot that they can do. It was just a flat out UGLY game! Here's looking ahead for two weeks!!
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