Steelers beat Bengals in OT with Chris Boswell 53-yarder

CINCINNATI — It was a game that had more twists and turns than a dime store romance novel and an ending that qualified for Ripley’s Believe It or Not.

For more than 57 minutes Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers played with a lead on the road against the defending AFC champions. Then, with 2 seconds left, it looked like they were heading for a stunning loss, which would have been their fourth in a row in the series.

But a blocked extra point was followed by a pair of missed field goals in overtime before the Steelers eked out a 23-20 victory against the Cincinnati Bengals on Chris Boswell’s 53-yard kick as time expired in the extra session.

“It was crazy,” said tight end Pat Freiermuth, who had two catches for 36 yards on the winning drive. “You think you’re going to win the game, then you think you’re going to lose the game and that happened like 3-4 times.”

The Steelers forced five turnovers, sacked Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow seven times and made two defensive stops in the fourth quarter only to give up a touchdown with 0:02 left that allowed Cincinnati to tie the score 20-20.

All that stood between the Steelers and a demoralizing loss was the extra point. But Evan McPherson, who set a franchise record with a 59-yard field goal earlier in the game and made 46 of 48 extra points as a rookie, had his attempt blocked by Minkah Fitzpatrick.

In overtime, McPherson missed a 29-yarder, and Boswell had a 55-yard try hit the left upright. Just when it looked like the Steelers would have their first season-opening tie in five years, Mitch Trubisky led the Steelers offense into Bengals territory, and Boswell sent his 53-yard kick down the middle to complete the improbable victory.

“We found out a lot about this team,” said Trubisky, who didn’t throw an interception in his first start as Ben Roethlisberger’s successor. “We battled, we stuck together. We have a lot to clean up, but we found a win in the end.”

The win came at a heavy cost for the Steelers. NFL Defensive Player of the Year T.J. Watt left with a pectoral injury in the fourth quarter and could miss significant time. Running back Najee Harris also didn’t return for overtime after injuring his foot.

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In the end, the Steelers prevailed, improving their record to 53-0 in the past 50 years when their defensive provides at least four takeaways and sacks in a game. The Steelers intercepted Burrow four times, beginning with Fitzpatrick’s 31-yard pick-six less than 3 minutes into the game, a lead that lasted until the final seconds of regulation.

Burrow also lost the ball on one of Alex Highsmith’s three sacks, and the Steelers turned the takeaways into 17 points.

This offset an anemic performance by an offense that managed one touchdown and had 172 total yards at the end of regulation.

“It was enough,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “We’re 1-0 just like special teams and defense. We win together, we lose together.”

After Fitzpatrick’s blocked extra point forced overtime, the Steelers won the coin toss but went three-and-out — a familiar refrain. On the first 13 offensive series, the Steelers got multiple first downs once — on the possession that ended with Harris’ 1-yard touchdown catch that gave the Steelers a 17-3 lead in the second quarter.

The Bengals had a chance to win it with 3:33 left, but McPherson’s 29-yard field goal sailed wide left. The Bengals were without long snapper Clark Harris on the two unsuccessful attempts by McPherson.

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McPherson didn’t use Harris’ absence as an excuse.

“I can hit that with my left foot,” he said.

Given new life, the Steelers got two first downs and had a chance to win it with 2:27 left when Boswell was called on to try a 55-yard field goal. The kick hit the left upright.

“I always want one more shot,” Boswell said. “It’s a matter of whether I get it. Most of the time in that situation, if you miss the first one, you don’t get another one.”

The Bengals were at the Steelers 38 with 1:38 left when slot corner Arthur Maulet collected the team’s seventh sack and forced a fumble that resulted in a 12-yard loss and took Cincinnati out of field-goal range.

This gave the Steelers one last chance from their 20 and 56 seconds left on the clock.

“We were playing to win,” Trubisky said. “We had another chance, and we wanted to make the most out of it. We wanted to be smart and take care of the football but also try to win. We didn’t want it to end in a tie.”

Trubisky had the presence of mind on a free play to scramble and find Freiermuth for a 26-yard gain. Another completion to Freiermuth gained 10 yards to the Bengals 35.

“I’m glad we could take the circumstances we had on offense and make something out of it,” wide receiver Chase Claypool said. “We owed that to the defense.”

The Steelers stopped the clock with 0:08 to play, and after an incompletion, Boswell was called on to kick the winner.

“A guy like Money Boz, he ain’t going to miss twice,” Highsmith said. “He’s Money Boz for a reason, and we all knew that second one was going to go in.”

It ended a game the Steelers probably deserved to lose. For all of the takeaways and sacks, the defense gave up 432 yards and was on the field for 94 plays as the Bengals owned a 17-minute advantage in time of possession.

Then again, the defense did stop the Bengals twice in the fourth quarter. Ahkello Witherspoon had an interception at the Steelers 23, and the defense withstood a first-and-goal by the Bengals from the 1, getting a fourth-down stop with less than two minutes left.

“They tried to put us out and tried to kill us,” defensive tackle Cameron Heyward said. “We kept bouncing back.”