The Cincinnati Bengals entered Acrisure Stadium with much to gain if they could knock off the Pittsburgh Steelers in AFC North divisional play. Instead, they got in the wrong holiday spirit, allowing Christmas to come early for the Steelers, who looked to be reeling from talk of Mike Tomlin being relieved of his duties in a few weeks as questions surrounded some player's lack of effort and injuries.
Tomlin elevated quarterback Mason Rudolph to the starting job, and receiver George Pickens went from hearing the wrath of the Steelers fan base to its shining star with two 60-plus yard touchdowns in the Steelers' 34-11 win to keep their playoff hopes alive for another week.
The Bengals would stack up yardage during the day as Jake Browning would finish 28 of 42 for 335 yards and an 80-yard touchdown pass to Tee Higgins in the third quarter. But Browning would also throw three interceptions, including one in the end zone.
The loss moves the Steelers over the Bengals in the AFC playoff standings and gives the Steelers the tiebreaker via sweeping the season series.
After the game, Dave Lapham spoke with Dave Berk for an exclusive In The Trenches with Dave Lapham, presented by First Star Logistics, postgame call to discuss the outcome of the game and where the Bengals go from here with two regular season games remaining.
Remember to participate in the First Star Logistics Giveaway each week the Bengals play. Visit First Star Logistics on X (Twitter) for details each week during the season. https://twitter.com/Firststarlog