Monday, December 31, 2001
Bengals 26, Steelers 23
Losing streak ends at 7 on Rackers' FG in overtime
By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer
At the two-minute warning, with the Bengals driving for what would be the tying touchdown, the Pittsburgh Steelers' defense was calling for the crowd to make noise.
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PHOTO GALLERY
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Neil Rackers celebrates winning field goal.
(AP photo)
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On cue, yellow “terrible towels” came up and were waved from each corner and every level of the stadium.
But the game was in Cincinnati, and the Bengals not only defeated the best team in the AFC, they won 26-23 in overtime before what ended up being a hostile audience — the remains of a sellout crowd of 63,751 on a 20-degree day.
“That's what it was, a road win,” Bengals linebacker Takeo Spikes said.
It was the most improbable victory of the season in the most bizarre setting. It snapped the Bengals' seven-game losing streak and gave them a 5-10 record, their most since the 1997 team was 7-9.
Bengals kicker Neil Rackers missed an extra point that would have won the game with 37 seconds left in regulation. But in overtime, Rackers drilled a 31-yarder, capping an impressive 11-play, 86-yard drive that started inside the Bengals 1-yard line.
“It doesn't get any worse than the extra point,” Rackers said. “The offense (gave) me another opportunity. Otherwise, I have to sit on a missed extra point, possibly until next season.”
The Bengals' offense, after going eight quarters without a touchdown, scored two in span of 2:09 against the NFL's top-ranked defense to rally from a 13-point deficit.
Quarterback Jon Kitna, who had thrown for 393 yards and seven interceptions in his past three games combined, had a career-high 411 passing yards. That was the most allowed by a Pittsburgh defense since 1988. Kitna threw touchdown passes of 6 yards to Ron Dugans and 18 yards to Danny Farmer.
Darnay Scott and Peter Warrick each had more than 100 yards receiving, and Kitna praised his receivers and offensive line while deflecting criticism for his numbers the past seven games: 13 interceptions, two TD passes.
“Just as I will not take all the credit for what went right, I'm not going to take the (blame),” Kitna said.
The Bengals' 544 net yards were the most by a Cincinnati offense since the 582 gained Oct.7, 1990 in a 34-31 overtime win at Los Angeles against the Rams.
The Bengals' 99 offensive plays were the most in team history.
On Sunday, the offensive line allowed just two sacks to a Steelers defense that had 49 entering the game. The Bengals rushed for 141 yards, twice as many as Pittsburgh's top-ranked defense had been allowing.
Corey Dillon rushed for 91 yards, giving him 1,228, the second-most of his five-year career.
The offensive heroics of the second half were set up by a strange first Bengals touchdown. Steelers holder Josh Miller fumbled a snap on a field-goal attempt in the second quarter.
The Bengals' Robert Bean recovered the ball and ran 10 yards before Pittsburgh kicker Kris Brown entangled him. Then Bean pitched to linebacker Brian Simmons, who ran the final 56 yards for the touchdown.
The Steelers (12-3), who clinched home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs because of Oakland's loss to Denver, led 17-10 at halftime and stretched the lead to 23-10 on Kordell Stewart's 37-yard pass to running back Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala in the third quarter.
The Bengals' defense, which held the Steelers' third-ranked offense to 58 fewer yards than its 371-yard average, then intercepted four Stewart passes in the final six Pittsburgh possessions. Stewart had thrown just five in his first 14 games.
This allowed the Bengals' offense to rally.
After Kitna's touchdown pass to Duganscut the Steelers' lead to 23-17, Rackers executed a perfect onside kick with 2:51 remaining in the game. Steelers wide receiver Bobby Shaw appeared to recover the kick, but Bengals rookie linebacker Riall Johnson wrestled the ball away.
“I finally got my fingers between the ball and him and just pulled at it,” Johnson said. “I didn't hear any whistle. I couldn't see (the ball). I did it by feel. Finally, I had it.”
Kitna drove the offense 54 yards for the score, hitting Farmer on a fade pass.
The Steelers had the ball first in overtime but were forced to punt after driving to the Bengals' 39-yard line. Miller's punt was downed inside the 1, and the situation looked eerily similar to the one that ended the overtime loss Dec.2 to Tampa Bay.
Dillon fumbled on the Bengals' first overtime play that day, and a Martin Gramatica field goal ended a 16-13 Buccaneers victory.
But on Sunday, with Dillon out with a dislocated little finger, backup running back Brandon Bennett blasted out from the 10 for a 36-yard run. Farmer and Warrick had first-down receptions to get in field-goal range.
“I told Neil when we were getting ready to kickoff, after he (had) missed the extra point, "Neil, get your mind right because you're going to make the kick that's going to win the game,'” said coach Dick LeBeau, who earned his first win in four games against his former boss, Steelers coach Bill Cowher.
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Bengals 26, Steelers 23