Steelers Beat Bengals, 31-17
Monday January 9, 2006
After a shaky first half, packed with false starts and penaltys, the Pittsburgh Steelers came back strong to decisively triumph over the AFC North champion and rival Cincinnati Bengals, 31-17. The exhileration over the Steelers win, however, is tempered by the season-ending injury suffered by Bengals' Pro Bowl quarterback Carson Palmer in the first five minutes of the game.
Many Bengals players and fans were thinking "cheap shot" after Palmer was taken from the field by motorized stretcher with a torn left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his knee. The injury occured on a tackle by Pittsburgh defensive end Kimo von Oelhoffen a split-second after Palmer released what turned out to be a 66-yard completion to Chris Henry which set up the Bengals' first touchdown of the game. Chris Henry left the game a few plays later with an injury suffered during that same 66-yard pass. The 300-pound von Oelhoffen, with the aid of a shove by Bengals left guard Eric Steinbach, rolled off-balance into the side of Palmer's left knee before the whistle blew. There was no penalty called on the play.
“I was playing football and he was playing football. No more, no less. That’s all it is,” von Oelhoffen said when asked about the tackle. The Steelers defensive lineman, who spent half his NFL career playing for the Bengals, looked immediately remorseful after the hit. "I'm not gonna lie, it affected me a little bit," von Oelhoffen said. "That kid deserved a shot to play in this game. You don't want that to happen." He also apologized to Palmer, his family and the Bengals' fans, saying the knee shot was definitely unintentional. "My apologies to him and his family."
Backup quarterback John Kitna came in to replace Palmer, helping Cincinnati take an early 10-0 lead. The Bengals could not hold off Pittsburgh for long, however. Pittsburgh stormed back just before the half, pulling within three points of the Bengals at 17-14. A bad snap on a field goal try on the first Cincinnati drive of the second half spelled the beginning of the end for the Bengals, leaving room for Pittsburgh to take their first lead at 21-17 on a 5-yard run by Jerome Bettis. The Steelers then immediately turned around to score again with a flea-flicker as Antwaan Randle El took a direct snap in front of Roethlisberger, ran to his right, turned and threw the ball back to the quarterback. Cedrick Wilson was 10 yards beyond the confused coverage for his 43-yard touchdown catch that put the Steelers up 28-17. Now that was something to watch! The fourth quarter saw the punctuation mark put on the Steelers win, with an interception by James Farrior leading to a short 21-yard Steelers field goal by Jeff Reed to bring the final score to 31-17.
Pittsburgh Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had a great day, completing 14 of 19 passes for 208 yards and three touchdowns. The running game was strong as well, with Jerome Bettis having 10 carries for 52 yards, Verron Haynes three carries for 46 yards and Willie Parker with 16 carries for 38 yards.
The Pittsburgh Steelers move on in the AFC divisional playoffs to challenge the Indianapolis Colts in Indianapolis next Sunday at 1pm.
Many Bengals players and fans were thinking "cheap shot" after Palmer was taken from the field by motorized stretcher with a torn left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his knee. The injury occured on a tackle by Pittsburgh defensive end Kimo von Oelhoffen a split-second after Palmer released what turned out to be a 66-yard completion to Chris Henry which set up the Bengals' first touchdown of the game. Chris Henry left the game a few plays later with an injury suffered during that same 66-yard pass. The 300-pound von Oelhoffen, with the aid of a shove by Bengals left guard Eric Steinbach, rolled off-balance into the side of Palmer's left knee before the whistle blew. There was no penalty called on the play.
“I was playing football and he was playing football. No more, no less. That’s all it is,” von Oelhoffen said when asked about the tackle. The Steelers defensive lineman, who spent half his NFL career playing for the Bengals, looked immediately remorseful after the hit. "I'm not gonna lie, it affected me a little bit," von Oelhoffen said. "That kid deserved a shot to play in this game. You don't want that to happen." He also apologized to Palmer, his family and the Bengals' fans, saying the knee shot was definitely unintentional. "My apologies to him and his family."
Backup quarterback John Kitna came in to replace Palmer, helping Cincinnati take an early 10-0 lead. The Bengals could not hold off Pittsburgh for long, however. Pittsburgh stormed back just before the half, pulling within three points of the Bengals at 17-14. A bad snap on a field goal try on the first Cincinnati drive of the second half spelled the beginning of the end for the Bengals, leaving room for Pittsburgh to take their first lead at 21-17 on a 5-yard run by Jerome Bettis. The Steelers then immediately turned around to score again with a flea-flicker as Antwaan Randle El took a direct snap in front of Roethlisberger, ran to his right, turned and threw the ball back to the quarterback. Cedrick Wilson was 10 yards beyond the confused coverage for his 43-yard touchdown catch that put the Steelers up 28-17. Now that was something to watch! The fourth quarter saw the punctuation mark put on the Steelers win, with an interception by James Farrior leading to a short 21-yard Steelers field goal by Jeff Reed to bring the final score to 31-17.
Pittsburgh Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had a great day, completing 14 of 19 passes for 208 yards and three touchdowns. The running game was strong as well, with Jerome Bettis having 10 carries for 52 yards, Verron Haynes three carries for 46 yards and Willie Parker with 16 carries for 38 yards.
The Pittsburgh Steelers move on in the AFC divisional playoffs to challenge the Indianapolis Colts in Indianapolis next Sunday at 1pm.
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