Steelers /Bengals in December When It Mattered- A History

The Steelers and Bengals have met in December five times in the past when both teams were still alive for the post season. The Bengals have actually won 3 of those games, but in 4 of the 5 years, the Steelers made it to the playoffs. I have been around long enough to have watched all five of those games. Here's what happened:


December 13, 1975 @ Pittsburgh- Steelers 35, Bengals 14.
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197512130pit.htm


This was one of those Saturday afternoon nationally televised games, that the NFL used to schedule on the last two Saturdays of the regular season (and I miss 'em!).
Both teams were headed to the playoffs, but the the AFC Central title was at stake. The Steelers came into the game 11-1 and had beaten the Bengals, who were 10-2, earlier in the year 30-24. Under the old tie breaking rules then- if teams finished tied head to head- then it went to net points in the two games. Therefore, if the Bengals won by 7 they would have the tiebreaker for the division.
The game however was a blowout. The Steelers took a bang-bang 14-0 lead right off the bat- scoring on a Swann TD reception their first possession, and then getting a defensive TD seconds later. After that, it was pretty much garbage time, with the Steelers winning pretty easily. This was a really good Bengals team, that finished 11-3 in their last season under Paul Brown and is arguably no worse than the 3rd best team in the franchise's sorry history. The Steelers went on to win Super Bowl X, the wild card Bengals lost a close game to the Raiders in the playoffs.

December 10, 1977 @ Cincinnati- Bengals 17, Steelers 10.
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197712100cin.htm

This game was reminscent of some of the ugly recent outings of the 2012 Steelers (in fact, with their turnovers, penalties, and injuries that season, it was a pretty similar year). Once again, the AFC Central title was on the line. The Steelers came in 8-4, with a 4 game winning streak, and had beaten the Bengals in a violent Monday Night game earlier in the season. All they had to do to maintain control of their playoff destiny was to lose by no more than 6 points to the -7-5 Bengals. Once again, this was a big nationally televised Saturday afternoon game, but the outcome was much different than 2 years prior.

The game was played in zero degree weather and started very badly for the Steelers. Lemar Parrish, one of the two Bengals Pro Bowl caliber CB's, intercepted Bradshaw and took it in for a pick 6. Then, the Bengals drove down to the Steelers one yard line before being stopped on 4th and goal. After that, the Steelers dominated the first half, taking a 10-7 lead as Franco ran for 101 yards. However, the second half was all Bengals. Harris went from a 100 yard game in the first half to -6 yards in the second half with 2 costly fumbles. The first stopped a Steelers drive in Bengals territory, and led to the tying field goal. Then the Steelers fumbled the kickoff (one of 5 turnovers that day) and Ken Anderson threw a touchdown pass to Pat McInally- the Bengals PUNTER- who was playing WR that day because Isaac Curtis was injured. Harris' second fumble killed a fourth quarter drive in Bengals territory. Finally, in the last seconds the Steelers attempted to drive into field goal range- because a field goal would make it a 4 point loss and thus give them the tiebreaker. Weird, wild stuff. They did not make it- and all looked lost for the team. Except, the Bum Phillips coached Oilers went out and beat the Bengals the next week, eliminating them and allowing the Steelers to win the division with a 9-5 record.


December 13, 1981 @ Pittsburgh- Bengals 17, Steelers 10.
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200512040pit.htm

Once again, the AFC Central title was decided by a Bengals/Steelers battle in December. This time, the Bengals came into the game with a 10-4 record and a 2 game lead over the 8-6 Steelers. However, if the Steelers won, and if the Bengals lost the next week while the Steelers won over Houston, the Steelers would win the division.

This game was actually decided the week before. The Steelers were finally playing consistently and went into the Monday Night game against the Raiders with an 8-5 record and 3 game winning streak. However, Terry Bradshaw got injured early, finishing his season. Mark Malone, now the backup QB since Cliff Stoudt had gotten injured by punching a wall in a Seattle bar, came into the game and did well, but the Steelers lost a heartbreaker. Therefore Malone had to make his first NFL start in a huge game with the playoffs on the line. He really struggled until the 4th quarter, with the Steelers behind 17-3. Then, the team drove to a TD and got the ball back for a final drive. Malone got them down to the Cincy 30, but the Steelers lost the ball- and the game- when Jim Smith barely missed a pass in the end zone on 4th down. It was a real heartbreaker. I recall having to watch the game on a Canadian TV station (I lived near the border then and now) because the game was not on my local NBC affiliate in the USA. For the first time in 10 years, the Steelers would not go into the final week of the season still alive for the playoffs. They lost to finish 8-8, while the Bengals went to win the AFC title.


December 4, 2005 @ Pittsburgh- Bengals 38, Steelers 31.
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200512040pit.htm

Many years would pass before both teams met in a December game that was meaningful for both of them. This game is best remembered by us here as the last game the 2005 Steelers lost. The Steelers went into the game trailing the 9-3 Bengals by one game, but since they'd beaten them rather soundly earlier in the year, another win would give them control of their destiny the rest of the way. Ben threw for 386 yards that day, but also was intercepted 3 times. Two of them led directly to Bengals TD's and a Hines Ward fumble was also a killer, as was a 94 yard kickoff return by Tab Perry. Trailing by 14 with 6 minutes to go, the Steelers attempted a comeback, scoring on a Ward TD with 3 minutes left and then getting the ball right back. However, a Trai Essex holding penalty and a sack ended the last drive. Things looked bleak for the 2005 Steelers with the loss. As it turned out, the two teams went on different paths from that game. The Bengals won the division, met the Steelers in the first round of the playoffs, and well... the rest is history.


December 4, 2011 @Pittsburgh -Steelers 35, Bengals 7.

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201112040pit.htm

Wow, looking back, what a difference a year makes. Six years to the date of their 2005 meeting the Bengals again returned to the Burgh with playoffs on their mind, trailing the second place Steelers by a game. However, a 28 point second quarter by the Steelers made this one no contest. 2 Wallace TD's, 2 Mendy TD's, and a TD punt return by Brown. Let's see that again... Both teams were headed to the playoffs as wild card losers in the first round.

Here's hoping the Steelers channel their 1975 forebears, or at least do what they did just last December!

 

good stuff jimmy. i enjoy your posts like this. i too was around for all these and then some i hate to say. here's to a big win sunday. i still want the division title. i'll be rooting hard for the bungles the following week if NY takes care of bussiness and so do we.

 

nice post missed the first two games but been around for all the others

 

Jimmy SHHHHHHHH!
That's like an announcer saying he hasn't had a fumble this year. You know what happens if they give the guy the ball?
I'm bored so I got to say som-in!
I'll be rooting for us to win too

 

I miss those Saturday games too

 

I am not only rooting for the Steelers but also NY Giants BIG.
Go STEELERS! GO

 

Coughlin will have his team fired up for the R-birds after scoring a donut last week.. another loss for Baltimore.

 

Great post, Jimmy - loving the history.

And in terms of Sunday - I can't call it. I think previous record goes out of the window tomorrow.

 

thanks- I spent about an hour writing and researching this one, relying on memory and my nearly complete 40 year collection of Steelers media guides.
What struck me when looking back, was that the 77 and 81 teams had some disturbing similarities to this year's squad. Reading a line straight from the 1977 guide- "Turnovers and penalties, which have haunted the team all season...", were all too familar. The 81 team, like this one, had a straight road to the playoffs all laid out in front of them. They had a winning streak riding into a Monday Night game against a team with a losing record and controlled their own destiny for the division title. Instead, a quarterback injury felled a team that lost four 4th quarter leads that season.

 

TOMORROW has NOTHING to do with what happened "before" .. this is not the same old bumbling fumbeling BUNGALS .. and this sure as H*LL isnt the same old steelers.. we look more like the bungals now..

 

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TOMORROW has NOTHING to do with what happened "before" .. this is not the same old bumbling fumbeling BUNGALS .. and this sure as H*LL isnt the same old steelers.. we look more like the bungals now..[/QUOTE]

Relax. I'm not trying to predict the future by using the past. I personally find it important to have a historical perspective, simply for the sake of studying and learning history. It is this sense of history that is a big part of my life following the Steelers.

And, if you look at those games, more often than not it was the Steelers who were" bumbling and fumbeling"- and the Bengals playing some pretty good football.

I mentioned watching Steelers games on Canadian television. I'd LOVE to hear from someone else who recalls watching the Steelers on Canadian TV. From 1980-83-I watched maybe a dozen or so Steelers games on Channel 12 or Channel 2 in Montreal, including the playoffs against the Chargers.

Channel 12 was an English station, and Channel 2 was in French. Where I lived in Vermont, the local NBC affiliate was/is in Plattsburgh NY. They either showed the Jets or the Patriots- and in the 1980's, more often than either they showed the Bills. I found out years later that they had a choice given their location on what game to show, and the station manager was a big Bills fan. This was before the NFL took that decision out of the station's hands.

In Montreal, however, they loved the black and gold, in fact the Steelers played an exhibition game there in the early 1990's. On the English language station, they would just run the NBC feed. On the French station, it was called "Football Americain" with broadcast done by Raymond Lebrun, the Expos announcer- apparently he was a Steelers fan as well.

 

Great post. I'm old enough to remember the 1977 team. The team was pretty much unfocused all year. Chuck Noll cleaned house after the season, dumping Jim Clack, Frank Lewis, Reggie Harrison, Ernie Holmes, Jimmy Allen and Glen Edwards.