Steelers @ Bengals Wild Card: The Black and Gold Prevail, Just…

AP Photo: Tom Uhlman

As I mentioned in the previous article, as you are likely reading this I’m on an airplane somewhere or other over something or other. I’m sure we will be dissecting the game in enormous detail over the coming week. All I can say is, I’m wrung out and quivering on the floor like AB after that nasty, nasty hit. I would have been overjoyed had you told me yesterday the Steelers would win by one point. I’m not so sure how I feel right now…

I offered the opinion that the Bengals aren’t the Bungals any more, but I may have to rethink this position. They had the game in their own hands and literally threw it away. Whether the Steelers will have the horses to make it a game in Denver next week remains to be seen. But the legend of Big Ben lives on.

The post-game commentary is noting that it was a “disgraceful” performance by the Cincinnati Bengals. I would add the Cincinnati fan base. Cheering when a player is carted off the field? Not cool. Throwing stuff at him? All I can say is, stay classy, Cincinnati.

Well, I suppose it shouldn’t be a surprise when your sports media pulls the sort of unbelievable stuff they did this week.

I feel bad for AJ McCarron. He did his best, kept his cool, and deserved to be the first QB ever to win a playoff game with less than four NFL starts under his belt. But I guess it was not to be.

I’m sure we all thought the game was over when Cinci kicked the field goal. Credit the Steelers defense for not giving up. Credit the Steelers offense for giving themselves a chance. And then I suppose we can thank Vontaze Burfict and Adam Jones for the rest.

It will, of course, be an entirely Pyrrhic victory if AB and Ben can’t play next week. Unless, of course, the Steelers win with Landry Jones and whoever. Then I will truly be convinced they are a team of destiny. But for now they are alive for one more week, and that’s all we can ask.

Please add your thoughts in the comments. I’ll have Homer and Ivan’s posts out later today. Go Steelers!

11 comments

  • Justice, sweet justice. Cinci got away with crap the whole game. I hope we can get healthy for next week, but I’m proud of how our team kept their heads.

    Do I even need to say that Burfict is a criminal and should be suspended,, cut, banned and arrested. Seriously, I suppose you can’t ban a guy for one or two plays, but he should be on his way out.

    Liked by 1 person

  • cold_old_steelers_fan

    There are Bengals players who are class acts and Bengals fans who are wonderful people, but they were not the ones who were making themselves seen last night. Just before the snap of the ball on the play where AB was injured, I turned to my wife and said this is where we need Buflict to take a stupid penalty… and he did though it was as nasty a hit as I can ever remember seeing. My wife was appalled. She felt Burflict should be charged by the police (she doesn’t watch a lot of football). Burflict shouldn’t be playing professional football in this age. Someone is going to end up a quadriplegic or dead because of him.

    There were a lot of interesting bits in the game and some strange quotes after it (I don’t think it really only rained when the Bengals were on offence) but they will be mostly over looked by the last 20 seconds or so. I don’t want to put too much in here because Rebecca should have some surprises so I will keep it general. I thought both defences played well. The Steelers running game was everything the Bengals wasn’t and vice versa. McCarron did a decent job. I don’t know when that red headed guys contract expires but I wouldn’t be surprised to see McCarron get the job if money is at all tight for the Bengals. Maybe they will trade Red away for a boat load of draft choices ala Carson Palmer.

    Ray Lewis will be lucky to keep his job. Pacman Jones may not get signed next year, at least not till some team gets real desparate. Burflict will be lucky if he plays anywhere next year.

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  • I had hoped to join Homer J and co. at their viewing locale, but was reminded that i owed the wife a date-night. As I consider my marriage just slightly above the Steelers, opted for dinner and a viewing of ‘The Revenant’ (btw, it’s a little, a lot intense, and a very good movie, imo. It isn’t flash and dash like Star Wars, but it made me think of a Robert Redford flick called ‘all is lost’. I highly recommend it).
    But I got home in time for the end of the 3rd Q… in time to see Big Ben hurt… I was going to bed after the Burfict pick before my wife started yelling at me to come back, that a fumble had occurred. I thought that was stupid…why didn’t they just kneel 3 times, kick an FG and go from there? Alas, we know what came to pass.
    I’m glad my prediction from the other thread didn’t hold up, though it looked probable after the Green touchdown and the Burfict pick.

    It isn’t surprising that it was fans in the stands that threw debris, cheered injuries, etc. The way prices are, it is the most hardcore that attend games live anymore…and the most hardcore tend to be the most loosely screwed in the head. Still, they are a reflection of their team. The Bengals did more than Bungle. This wasn’t some silly goof… Burfict was out to injure. That may be the right epitaph for this game.

    The Bengals came to injure the Steelers.
    The Steelers came to beat the Bengals.

    Both happened.

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  • Elpalito. Second chance, next Sunday at four-ish. And that goes for anyone else reading who are in the DC Metro area. A lot of fun in the end.

    Like

  • Bad subject verb agreement there

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  • Pingback: Another Look at the Wild Card Game: Did the Referees Decide It? | Going Deep:

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