Cincinnati Bengals
Bengals refuse to be bullied
By Scott Priestle, CNATI.com Posted November 15, 2009 6:52 PM ET
PITTSBURGH -- For years, Bengals players have endured the taunts of their colleagues in Pittsburgh and the losses that so often accompanied the talk. The bullies pushed again Sunday. Specifically, Pro Bowl linebacker James Harrison pushed Andrew Whitworth in the back.
Whitworth absorbed it without a response, his teammates reacted in kind, and the resulting penalty on Harrison helped the Bengals muscle past the Steelers 18-12.
Andrew Whitworth
The win pushed the Bengals into first place in the AFC North at 7-2, including 5-0 within the division. How they earned the win should build confidence for the final seven regular-season games and the playoff berth that now seems inevitable. That the players were content to prove themselves between the whistles, rather than after, reinforces their claims that this Cincinnati team has a maturity previous teams lacked.
"When that little scuffle starts and guys can sit back and say, `OK, I'm not going to get into this, the team is bigger than we are right now,' that's huge," center Kyle Cook said. "It says a lot about our guys. They're smart. They know we can make our own destiny."
Certainly, they are well-positioned for a postseason berth. The Bengals' final seven games include four opponents with a combined record of 6-29, and their defense appears to be peaking. They allowed fewer than 300 yards in four of the past five games, including consecutive wins over the Baltimore Ravens and Steelers, two teams who set the standard within the division in recent years.
The Bengals held the Steelers to 226 yards and forced field goals on each of Pittsburgh's four trips inside the red zone. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger rarely had open receivers to hit or open space to run.
In the final minutes, with the game hanging in the balance, the Bengals drove 11 plays for a field goal -- aided by the unnecessary roughness penalty on Harrison -- then forced four incomplete passes by Roethlisberger.
"The things we needed to do to finish that game, we did 'em," Cook said.
Bengals coach Marvin Lewis called it "probably the most physical, grinding football game I've ever been on the sideline to experience." A handful of key players suffered injuries: Bengals running back Cedric Benson (hip) and Steelers safety Troy Polamalu (knee) did not play in the second half, and Bengals cornerbacks Leon Hall (elbow) and Johnathan Joseph (back) missed a few plays.
As recently as a year ago, the Bengals did not have the depth to withstand such losses and might not have had the fortitude to match the Steelers intensity. On this day, rookies Bernard Scott, Morgan Trent and Michael Johnson played significant roles, and the Bengals offensive and defensive lines went hit for hit with the Steelers.
Scott returned a kickoff 96 yards for the only touchdown of the day. Trent batted away two passes, one of which led to an interception by Frostee Rucker. Michael Johnson hit Roethlisberger to force an incomplete pass on Pittsburgh's final play, and backup linebacker Brandon Johnson knocked down a pair of passes at the line of scrimmage.
"I'm standing there watching these guys step in and take on roles -- Morgan Trent, Bernard Scott, I'm proud of them," Whitworth said.
Scott carried the ball five times on the team's final drive, third-string running back Brian Leonard carried it three times, and the Bengals threw only one pass while moving into position for a 43-yard field goal by Shayne Graham, his fourth field goal of the game. Harrison's penalty, which came early in the drive, helped flip the field position.
"There was some frustration," Whitworth said. "They definitely aren't used to being knocked off the ball, and we were knocking them off the ball on that last drive."
Pittsburgh running back Rashard Mendenhall gained only 36 yards on 13 carries, and Roethlisberger lost more yards in sacks (28) than he gained on scrambles (16). He vexed the Bengals in previous games with his ability to escape defenders and buy time for his receivers to get open, but on this day the Bengals reined in Roethlisberger and shadowed his receivers.
As a result, the Steelers converted only 3 of 15 third-down plays into first downs, and they settled for field goals every time they got within 20 yards of the end zone.
"It was a very physical game, from the first snap to the last one," Bengals defensive tackle Domata Peko said. "When you've got a division championship on the line, you know it's going to be. We were able to get after it, create a new line of scrimmage at times and stop the run, which is real big for us. We were able to stop Mendenhall, and we were able to get in Ben Roethlisberger's face all day."
And they were not deterred by a few bad plays or a few bad words.
"Obviously it's a different culture," Cook said. "The coaches are doing a great job this year, and the players are really buying into that. We're working together, and it shows. Guys are getting the job done. In the past, we might not have done that."
Related stories:
Notes: Scott fills in for Benson
Defense quietly dominates again
Bengals cornerbacks were sharp again
Gallery: Bengals 18, Steelers 12
Categories: Cincinnati Bengals, Featured Stories, News
Tags: Andrew Whitworth, Ben Roethlisberger, Bengals, James Harrison, Kyle Cook, Marvin Lewis, Steelers
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