(Cincinnati) Chris Boswell made a 53-yard field goal as the final seconds ticked away in overtime as the Pittsburgh Steelers edged the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 on Sunday.
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The Steelers, however, lost star player TJ Watt, who was injured late in the fourth quarter.
Watt made one of four interceptions off Joe Burrow, who rallied after watching the Bengals trail 17-6 at halftime. His six-yard touchdown pass to Ja’Marr Chase tied the game at 20-20 with two seconds remaining on the clock, but Minkah Fitzpatrick blocked Evan McPherson’s one-point convert to force the holding an extension.
“It’s good to come here in a hostile environment and not to flinch. Especially with the number of new players in the roster, whether rookies or newcomers,” Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said.
McPherson and Boswell both missed a field goal for the overtime win before quarterback Mitch Trubisky completed passes for nine, 26 and 10 yards in the final 56 seconds.
“It was pretty crazy. It was going back and forth, Trubisky said. We had a lot of that on our team. We fought and we stayed united. We have to refine our game a bit, but we found a way to win. Winning is fun. »
Watt, the defensive player of the past year, left the field and headed to the locker room with a pectoral injury. Prior to his injury, he had one sack and one interception.
Burrow was the victim of four interceptions for the first time in his career and he was the victim of seven sacks behind an offensive line that is supposed to be improved.
“It’s frustrating,” Burrow said. We came from behind in the second half and finished strong. We have to give them credit. They had a good game plan. »
Burrow did not play in preseason games while recovering from an appendectomy and was harshly greeted upon his return to the field. Alex Highsmith made the first of three afternoon sacks on the Bengals’ first offensive play. Fitzpatrick returned an interception from 31 yards for a major.
McPherson hit a 59-yard field goal in the first quarter, but Watt intercepted a pass from Burrow on the Bengals’ next offensive series. That play set the stage for a two-yard touchdown pass from Trubisky to Najee Harris, which gave the Steelers a 17-3 lead.
Trubisky, the first quarterback to get a start for the Steelers since Ben Roethlisberger retired, completed 21 of 38 passes for 194 passing yards.
When asked about his offense, Tomlin simply replied that “enough was enough” and that the team “was 1-0”.
The Bengals wasted a good showing from their defense, which limited big plays and did a good job of containing Harris. The latter finished the game with 10 carries for gains of 23 yards before leaving the game with a foot injury.
Chase caught 10 balls for 129 yards. Burrow had 33 of his 53 attempts from the air caught, including two for a touchdown.