Six straight losses
Vyncint Smith Jersey White , starting with a pregame scuffle and an epic playoff meltdown.Blown lead after blown lead.Losing their cool and games,
too.There's a common thread to the Bengals' most intense rivalry, one that's
been one-sided the past three seasons.No matter what happened, the Steelers
always won.The Bengals (4-1) lead the AFC North heading into the renewal of
their acrimonious rivalry Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium. They have a chance to
create separation from the Steelers (2-2-1). A loss would extend their streak of
futility, leave the division wide open, and reinforced the notion that the
Bengals can't get away from their history.Not that they even care to talk about
it."The history doesn't matter because the history hasn't been in our favor,"
defensive end Carlos Dunlap said Wednesday.That's an understatement. The rivalry
isn't history as much as a horror story for Cincinnati, strewn with incredible
comebacks ??all by the Steelers ??and ugly moments that made even players wonder
if it was getting out of hand.The story has different plot twists, but always
the same ending."It seems like the Bengals, every time they play them they have
the game won and something slips, something happens, and everything just goes to
whatever-you-want-to-call-it
Kareem Jackson Jersey ," linebacker Preston Brown said.It's not only lately, either. The Steelers have won nine of 10 and 14 of 17 in the series. The
Bengals are 8-24 against the Steelers under coach Marvin Lewis, including 2-15
at Paul Brown Stadium with a pair of playoff losses seared into franchise
history.During the 2005 season, Carson Palmer's left knee was torn on his first
pass by Kimo von Oelhoffen's hit, and Pittsburgh won 31-17. Ten years later, the
Steelers came to town twice and the rivalry took an ugly turn.Players had nasty
social media exchanges leading to their game on Dec. 13, 2015, and several got
into a scrum at midfield during warmups . Andy Dalton broke the thumb on his
passing hand while making a tackle after an interception. The Steelers went on
to win 33-20, starting the streak of six straight Pittsburgh victories.They
returned for the first round of the playoffs, and AJ McCarron had the Bengals in
position to finish off their first postseason victory in a quarter of a century.
Jeremy Hill fumbled, Vontaze Burfict hit Antonio Brown in the head on an
incompletion, Adam "Pacman" Jones bumped an official
Kareem Jackson Jersey White , and the Steelers took advantage of the meltdown for an 18-16 win on Chris Boswell's 35-yard field goal with 14 seconds
left."The one that everybody remembers," Brown called it. "I'm not going to talk
about it. I'm not going to say nothing about it. We all know the playoff game
and what happened."The Steelers swept the series in 2016, including a 24-20 win
at Paul Brown Stadium that eliminated the Bengals from playoff contention and
ended their streak of five straight postseason appearances. The Bengals blew a
17-3 lead and gained only 38 yards in the second half.Last year, the Bengals
managed only 19 yards in the second half of a 29-14 loss at Heinz Field. The
Steelers also won the rematch 23-20 at Paul Brown Stadium on a Monday night game
that included the Bengals blowing a 17-0 lead and players getting flagged for
egregious hits. Boswell's 38-yard field goal on the final play completed another
big Steelers comeback.In the aftermath, JuJu Smith-Schuster got a one-game
suspension for decking Burfict and then standing over him. Bengals safety George
Iloka got a one-game suspension that was later reduced to a $36,464.50 fine for
hitting Brown in the head.There were four penalties for unnecessary roughness,
one for unsportsmanlike conduct, one for taunting, one for roughing the passer
and two 15-yard penalties for grabbing the facemask. Cincinnati set a club
record with 173 yards in penalties.Pittsburgh's Ryan Shazier was hurt in that
game as well, suffering a spinal injury while making a tackle.And now, they're
getting back together again."We've seen the past, what's happened in the
past
Womens Senio Kelemete Jersey ," Dunlap said, "but the past is the past now."NO GIORunning back Giovani Bernard worked out on a side field wearing a
knee brace Wednesday. He sat out a 27-17 win over Miami on Sunday with the knee
injury. Receiver John Ross had a limited practice after sitting out a win over
the Dolphins with a groin injury. Guard Clint Boling (hip) and tight end Tyler
Kroft (foot) also were held out of practice.MORE MOVESThe Bengals signed tight
end Matt Lengel off Houston's practice squad and added safety Demetrious Cox to
the practice squad. HOUSTON (AP) — Deshaun Watson was sacked more than any other
quarterback during the regular season.Houston’s struggles to protect him
continued in the wild-card game on Saturday and it contributed to a 21-7 loss to
the Indianapolis Colts.Watson, who was sacked 62 times in the regular season,
was sacked three times and hit eight more times in a disappointing playoff
debut. He finished with 235 yards passing with a touchdown and an
interception.He addressed the pass rush when he was asked about some low throws
he made on Saturday.“The pressure was there,” he said. “I couldn’t step into my
throws. It wasn’t where I was sitting there by myself with a full pocket. Guys
were in my face and I was trying to make throws like that.”“I don’t think any
quarterback can step into that throw and get their full strength and their lower
body into it,” he continued. “A lot of balls can be low. That was it,
really.”Houston’s passing game was also hampered by a shoulder injury to star
receiver DeAndre Hopkins in a first half where they fell behind 21-0. Hopkins
was second in the NFL with a career-high 1,572 yards receiving in the regular
season, but was limited to five catches for 37 yards on a day he said that he
sustained a Grade 3 AC strain of his right shoulder.Hopkins acknowledged it
being difficult to play through his injury and was in so much pain after the
game that he winced repeatedly during the simple task of trying to zip his
jacket.He lamented Houston’s slow start.“I’m very disappointed,” he said.
“That’s a good team that came out and jumped on us early. We just couldn’t fight
back.”The Texans (11-6), who overcame a 0-3 start to win the AFC South, didn’t
score until rookie Keke Coutee grabbed a 6-yard touchdown pass to cap a
16-play
Zach Fulton Jersey White , 89-yard drive that included a fourth-down conversion that cut it to 21-7 with about 11 minutes left.Coutee, who returned
after missing five games with a hamstring injury, was a bright spot on a tough
day for Houston, grabbing 11 receptions for 110 yards.The Texans led the NFL
with nine comeback wins this season, but their attempt at a rally ended on their
next possession when Watson’s pass on fourth-and-10 from the Indianapolis 24
fell short with about four minutes left.Despite their early exit from the
playoffs, coach Bill O’Brien expressed optimism for the team after he fell to
1-3 in four playoff games.“I just didn’t do a good enough job getting (the) guys
ready to play,” he said. “Doesn’t change my feelings about this team … I think
there is a bright future for the organization when you have the players we
have.”Watson, who played his first full season after tearing a knee ligament
after seven games as a rookie last season, agreed with his coach and said
Saturday’s game didn’t shake his belief in his abilities.“My future’s bright,”
he said. “I’m not going to lose any confidence in myself, what I can do … just
go back to work, keep this feeling in the back of my mind
Dylan Cole Jersey , go back to work this offseason, regroup next year.”The Texans were limited to 105 yards rushing and allowed 200 as they played from
behind from the first series on. Running back Lamar Miller said the huge early
deficit affected what they could do offensively.“It makes it difficult,” he
said. “It makes us one-dimensional just trying to hurry up and try to put points
on the scoreboard. I think the second half the defense did a great job of doing
their job and us on the offensive side of the ball we just didn’t finish.”Andrew
Luck threw for 191 of his 222 yards and two touchdowns in the first half to
allow the Colts to build the big lead.Luck threw for 863 yards with six
touchdowns as the teams split two meetings in the regular season. He picked up
right where he left off in this one, when he found Eric Ebron on a 6-yard TD
pass on their first possession. The Colts made it 14-0 on a 2-yard run by Marlon
Mack later in the first quarter.Houston went for it on fourth-and-4 from the
Indianapolis 45 on its second possession and Watson was intercepted by Kenny
Moore II. It was his first interception since he threw two against the Redskins
on Nov. 18.The Colts got to the 17 after that before J.J. Watt deflected Luck’s
pass and he was intercepted by Brandon Dunn. But the Texans couldn’t move the
ball and had to punt.Indianapolis pushed the lead to 21-0 when Luck connected
with Dontrelle Inman on an 18-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter.The
Texans had a fourth-and-1 from the 9 late in the second quarter and went for it
again instead of settling for a field goal. The gamble didn’t pay off when
Watson’s pass to Hopkins was low and bounced in front of him in the end
zone.“Our red area has been horrendous for the whole year,” O’Brien said. “We
have had a lot of trips there, but we haven’t been able to score touchdowns down
there. That was the case today.”
