The Cincinnati Bengals (9-6) put together a highly impressive performance in their 23-16 victory over the in-form Arizona Cardinals (7-8). The win keeps the Bengals in the hunt for the final wild card slot in the AFC, with the first already taken by either the Baltimore Ravens or Pittsburgh Steelers, depending on which team eventually takes top spot in the AFC North.

The Bengals took control of the game immediately, moving into a 10-point lead by the end of the first quarter. An early field goal gave Cincinnati the lead, then Jermaine Gresham extended it when he collected an 11-yard touchdown pass from rookie quarterback, Andy Dalton.

Cincinnati then doubled their lead before halftime. Jerome Simpson acrobatically jumped over an Arizona defender to complete a 19-yard touchdown pass before Mike Nugent added a field goal, as time ran down in the second quarter. Despite Nugent adding another field goal in the third quarter and extending the Bengals lead to 23 points, the fourth quarter brought a scare for the home fans, with the Cardinals mounting a dangerous comeback. A 30-yard touchdown pass to Larry Fitzgerald sparked the Cardinals into life, and soon after, they were celebrating another touchdown after a 2-yard pass to Jeff King in the end zone.

A field goal for Arizona late in the fourth quarter reduced the deficit further and made it a one possession game with time running down. Despite being inside the Cincinnati 20-yard line with two minutes left on the clock, the Cardinals were unable to breach the Bengals defense and succumbed to a disappointing defeat.

Although Arizona fans will be pleased with the two touchdowns and 298-yards thrown by John Skelton, they will look back at the three interceptions given up by the second-year quarterback as arguably the most definitive factors behind their defeat. The Cincinnati defense was suffocating all game long, picking up three interceptions and five sacks, with safety Reggie Nelson picking up one of each, as the Bengals defense did a great job of giving their offense good field position. Dalton put in another efficient performance, throwing for two touchdowns and giving up no interceptions, but may find his hopes of earning the accolade of Offensive Rookie of the Year dashed, due to the more dynamic and explosive performances of Cam Newton.

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The Pittsburgh Steelers (7-3) bounced back from a disappointing loss to bitter rivals, the Baltimore Ravens, last week, with a 24-17 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals (6-3) in a critical AFC North clash. The loss ends a five-game winning streak for the Bengals, and also means the the team must lose their spot at the top of the division.

Whilst the Steelers were still missing linebacker LeMarr Woodley, they were boosted by the return of James Farrior, as well as James Harrison, who showed no fresh injury concerns after his return to the team last week against the Ravens.  Meanwhile, Jermaine Gresham boosted the Bengals as he returned from the inactive list, and although inside linebacker Rey Maualuga’s return bolstered the Bengal’s 4^th ranked N.F.L. defense, they were still without influential defensive end Carlos Dunlap.

The loss to the Ravens likely spurred the Steelers, who quickly moved to 14-0 in the first quarter, with Ben Roethlisberger finding Jerricho Cotchery for a 16-yard touchdown pass before Rashard Mendenhall added a touchdown of his own with a two-yard run. The Bengals did manage to cut the deficit before the end of the quarter though, as Andy Dalton threw a 36-yard pass into the endzone which wide receiver A. J. Green caught well above the heads of Troy Polamalu and Ryan Clark.

Cincinnati did manage to tie the game at 17-17 in the second half, when Dalton floated a one-yard touchdown pass to the back of the end zone for tight end Gresham, who showed good footwork to stay in bounds and take the catch. Running back Mendenhall soon re-established Pittsburgh’s lead, however, powering into the end zone from nine yards out and setting up a tense final quarter.

Although the Bengals continued to put pressure on the Steelers defense, they were unable to truly threaten Pittsburgh’s end zone, and when William Gay intercepted Dalton’s pass, the game was effectively over for Cincinnati.

Head Coach Mike Tomlin will be happy with his team, having emerged victorious from a hard-fought game, and will be pleased with how successful his offense had been, especially against a side who were ranked fourth in the N.F.L. for defense prior to this game, as well as rushing for over a 100 yards, an accomplishment which no team has been able to achieve against the Bengals in their last six games.

Wide receiver Antonio Brown was particularly impressive for the Steelers, catching the ball for 74 yards on four catches during one drive in the first half. Not quite as impressive was Pittsburgh’s offensive line, which allowed five sacks on quarterback Roethlisberger, and will need to improve if the Steelers are to make an impact beyond the regular season. The Bengals, meanwhile, will need to bounce back quickly, as they face a testing trip to Baltimore next week when they take on divisional rivals the Ravens.

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