Devlin Hodges replaced Mason Rudolph at quarterback in the second half Sunday and rallied the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers to a 16-10 victory, keeping the Cincinnati Bengals winless on the season.
Hodges was 5 of 11 for 118 yards and hit James Washington on a 79-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter with his second throw of the game as the Steelers (6-5) extended their winning streak over the Bengals to 10, including playoffs, going back to 2015.
Chris Boswell kicked a 47-yard field goal with 11:59 remaining to break a 10-10 tie and added a 26-yard kick with 3:18 remaining.
The Steelers' defense was able to seal the victory with a pair of fumble recoveries.
Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick recovered a fumble by Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd at the Steelers' 6-yard line with 8:45 remaining. Linebacker Bud Dupree sealed the victory when he sacked Bengals quarterback Ryan Finley and recovered the ensuing fumble at the Bengals 21-yard line with 2:38 remaining.
Finley was 12 of 26 for 192 yards for the Bengals, while Boyd caught five passes for 101 yards and a touchdown. The Bengals (0-11) are off to their worst start in franchise history.
Rudolph was 8 of 16 for 85 yards and an interception in his first game since the Cleveland Browns' Myles Garrett hit him in the head with his own helmet. That incident came in a Nov. 14 defeat to the Browns that ended the Steelers' four-game winning streak.
The teams combined for 265 yards in total offense and 10 points in a sluggish first half. After a scoreless first quarter, the Steelers broke through first on Boswell's 26-yard field goal with 3:21 remaining until halftime.
The Bengals came right back with their best drive of the day, with the bulk of the yards coming on back-to-back passes from Finley to Boyd.
The first came on a 47-yard pass, with Boyd making a one-handed catch to put Cincinnati on the 15-yard line. It was the longest completion of Finley's brief career. Boyd then caught a 15-yard TD pass from Finley as the Bengals carried a 7-3 lead into halftime.
The consecutive passes accounted for 62 of Finley's 108 yards passing in the first half.
Pittsburgh | Cincinnati | |
Benny Snell Jr. | Player | Joe Mixon |
21 | Attempts | 18 |
98 | Yards | 79 |
4.7 | Avg Yards | 4.4 |
0 | Touchdowns | 0 |
21 | Long | 14 |
Pittsburgh | Cincinnati | |
James Washington | Player | Tyler Boyd |
3 | Receptions | 5 |
98 | Yards | 101 |
32.7 | Avg Yards | 20.2 |
1 | Touchdowns | 1 |
79 | Long | 47 |
Yards | Scoring | Defense | ||||||
Team | Tot | Rus | Pas | TD | FG | INT | Sck | FF |
Pittsburgh | 338 | 159 | 179 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4.0 | 4 |
Cincinnati | 244 | 86 | 158 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3.0 | 0 |