In all honesty, the Cincinnati Bengals shouldn’t have even been in this one. That they took the Pittsburgh Steelers into overtime after Joe Burrow’s four interceptions and one fumble seemed like a miracle. But there the Bengals were, with 1:04 left in the game, looking to salvage a 20-20 tie out of the entire disaster. This after Burrow took his seventh sack of the day.
What we do not know is why head coach Zac Taylor didn’t let the clock run all the way down before Kevin Huber’s punt. Instead of bleeding the clock down, the Bengals gave the Steelers 15 extra seconds on the clock.
Bad clock management: The #Bengals lost to the #Steelers on a 53-yard FG with no time left.
Cincy played for the tie when they punted with 1:03 left. They still had 15 more seconds to milk on the play clock.
That was the deciding factor in this game. pic.twitter.com/wmvYJ8qufV
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 11, 2022
And with those extra 15 seconds, the Steelers went on an eight-play, 45-yard, 56-second drive that ended with Chris Boswell’s 56-yard field goal.
Chris Boswell for the win. What a game! #HereWeGo pic.twitter.com/uxMKHrVE18
— NFL (@NFL) September 11, 2022
What a game indeed, but if the Bengals had forced the Steelers to start that drive with more than a minute on the clock, they may have escaped their own stadium with a tie.
