Steelers safety Chris Hope makes a 55-yard return with safety Mike Logan providing protection after intercepting a pass intended for Bengals receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh during the third quarter.
Monday, October 24, 2005
By Paul Daugherty
Cincinnati Enquirer staff writer
You have to admire the Pittsburgh Steelers, even as you loathe them. Their two-ton running back (now two and a half), their Rushmore-jawed head coach, their Cro-Magnon offense, their stupid yellow towels. The whole "Stiller" package is obnoxious, insufferable and overbearing.
And, oh yeah, enviable. Some of the time. Most of the time. In the second half Sunday, all of the time.
The Bengals got Steeler-ed again. In the third quarter, game still very much on, Pittsburgh pulped Cincinnati: Seventeen points, 113 total yards, 70 yards rushing, two interceptions. One franchise's will firmly imposed on the other's.
Again.
It's a lot more confounding now than it was in the dim past. Cincinnati has the players to run with Pittsburgh. In fact, you could argue the Bengals have better players in a lot of areas. Would you trade Carson Palmer for Ben Roethlisberger? Chad Johnson for Hines Ward? Rudi Johnson for Jerome (Mix In A Salad) Bettis? The Bengals' secondary for Pittsburgh's?
Nope and nope. Would you trade the Bengals' fragile mindset for the Steelers' bring-it-on attitude? Only if you wanted to win a championship.
Here's what happened Sunday: The Bengals started fast, fueled by a home crowd and a week of buildup worthy of P.T. Barnum. The Steelers accepted the body blows and kept playing. The Bengals blew a few early chances, made a few early mistakes: A dropped TD pass, a blown field goal. The Steelers kept playing.
The Bengals haven't played a game this big in 15 years. The Steelers play several, every year. It's not an accident that Pittsburgh has won its last 10 road games.
Pittsburgh took the lead and then shoved Bettis down Cincinnati's gullet. When Jerome wasn't maneuvering through Cincy's soft middle like a double-wide with a head, "fast" Willie Parker was performing ballet to the outside. Parker's 37-yard pirouette put Pittsburgh ahead 17-6 in the third quarter.
You can't get behind Pittsburgh by 11 in the second half, especially when you're the Bengals and the weakness of your team is stopping the run. In the third quarter, it wasn't about strategy or play-calling or "adjustments." It was about the Steelers being the Steelers.
"To slug it out with them when they get (the lead) is almost impossible," said defensive tackle John Thornton. "They're built for that. In the fourth quarter, you look up at the scoreboard, it's 27-6 and you know what they're going to do."
Bryan Robinson had a different take.
"I think it's here," the defensive tackle said. He pointed to his head. "Once we get that mentality that we're just as good as that team ... we need to get our heads straight. Let's just play."
"That attitude of dominance" guard Bobbie Williams called it.
Pittsburgh has it. Cincinnati wants it. It's an acquired skill.
The Bengals spoke of "missed opportunities" and they had a point. When did the air escape Cincinnati's early season balloon? How about the Bengals' first possession of the game? Chad Johnson made the greatest non-catch in the history of non-catches. No. 85 gets more acrobatic weekly. This time, he laid out in the end zone like an Olympic swimmer leaping from the starting blocks, to catch what seemed to be a 16-yard TD pass from Carson Palmer.
It was as if the city's week-long giddiness had propelled the Bengals down the field, until Palmer's perfect throw turned Johnson into Baryshnikov. Bengals lead 7-0 out of the chute, Steelers have to join the NFL and actually throw the ball, Cincinnati starts making playoff plans.
Except Pittsburgh appealed the catch and the refs reversed the call. Then Chris Henry dropped a ball in the end zone, Shayne Graham hooked a 30-yard field goal and suddenly, Steeler Mystique showed up in Paul Brown Stadium. The good news is, the Bengals still lead the AFC North and they're here again next week, against a Green Bay team that blew a 17-0 lead Sunday against Minnesota, the NFL's most dysfunctional club. The bad news is, they still can't beat the "Stillers."
Marvin Lewis' stated goal of building a Cincinnati team that plays the way Pittsburgh's does is more worthy today than Sunday.
E-mail pdaugherty@enquirer.com
BENGALS• From showdown to beatdown• Poor game throws off Palmer passer rating• Not enough rushing for Rudi• Inside the red zone• Steelers have their way on the ground
NFL• Airing it out is a relative term for Ben• Eagles' victory is special• Negative talk pushes Minnesota• Interconference roundup• NFC roundup
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