Steelers turn late field goal and fumble into win over Bengals

The plays that tipped it

Pittsburgh’s 33-yard field goal with 2:15 left was the final scoring turn in a 30-27 Steelers win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, September 27. Cincinnati still had possession from its own 30, but its last series ended with a sack, fumble and Pittsburgh recovery at 0:53. The Steelers took a three-point game and made it nearly certain when their win probability rose from 62.8% to 99.9% on that play.

Pittsburgh had spent much of the fourth quarter navigating thinner margins. Its win probability had fallen to 29%, then a muffed punt recovered at the Cincinnati 14 shifted the Bengals from 71% to 48.6% and pushed Pittsburgh to 51.4%. The Steelers did not run away with the game; they repeatedly found the one play, possession or kick that kept the Bengals from taking control.

Early answers and a changing lead

The Steelers came out with speed, going 73 yards in four plays and 1:45 for the opening touchdown. Aaron Rodgers hit a 38-yard scoring pass, but Cincinnati answered with a 12-play, 73-yard drive that consumed 7:12 and ended with Joe Burrow’s 3-yard touchdown pass to Ja'Marr Chase. Pittsburgh responded again, covering 86 yards in 11 plays for a 14-7 first-quarter lead on another touchdown pass, this one from 23 yards.

Cincinnati trimmed the margin with a 50-yard field goal, and Pittsburgh answered with a 44-yarder for a 17-10 edge. Rodgers then saw an eight-play possession end in an interception, giving the Bengals the ball at their own 47. Burrow made the short field count, finishing a five-play, 53-yard series with a 28-yard touchdown pass at 0:34 to send the game to halftime tied 17-17.

The Bengals seized their first lead after halftime by taking 6:31 off the clock on a 14-play, 65-yard march that ended in a 38-yard field goal. Pittsburgh countered with a 12-play, 74-yard touchdown drive, capped by Rodgers’ 6-yard scoring pass, to regain a 24-20 advantage. Burrow’s 25-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth put Cincinnati back ahead 27-24, setting up a finish in which every possession carried weight.

Pittsburgh’s balance, Cincinnati’s punch

The advanced numbers showed how narrow the gap was. EPA per play, which measures the expected points a team adds on each snap, was 0.27 for Pittsburgh and 0.26 for Cincinnati. Success rate, the share of plays that produce positive EPA, favored the Bengals 55% to 53%, an indication that Cincinnati kept finding productive snaps even as Pittsburgh made the finishing plays.

Pittsburgh’s passing game created its biggest efficiency edge, posting 0.38 EPA per pass play compared with 0.09 on rushes. Rodgers completed 19 of 34 passes for 292 yards and three touchdowns, though his interception helped Cincinnati erase Pittsburgh’s first lead. Jaylen Warren gave the Steelers a second way to move the ball, producing 127 yards on 17 carries, including a 35-yard run that helped create a 44-yard field goal.

The final Pittsburgh scoring drive began at its own 8 with 7:39 remaining and covered 77 yards in nine plays over 5:24. Darnell Washington’s 47-yard catch moved the Steelers to the Cincinnati 32 before the tying field goal, and Pittsburgh later got the final 33-yard kick for the lead. Cincinnati finished with 365 passing and rushing yards, while Pittsburgh had 430, but the Bengals’ two turnovers against Pittsburgh’s one proved decisive.

Burrow completed 28 of 37 passes for 282 yards and three touchdowns, keeping Cincinnati within reach from the opening response through the final drive. Chase caught nine passes for 98 yards and a touchdown, while Dexter Lawrence II recorded two sacks in a defense that twice put Rodgers on the ground. Both teams leave at 2-1: the Bengals host the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, October 4, and the Steelers visit the Cleveland Browns on Thursday, October 1.