Cincinnati wins, clinches playoffs

PITTSBURGH - A.J. Green doesn't really care about the Cincinnati Bengals' sorry past. The wide receiver wasn't part of it and hasn't really taken the time to study it. The Bengals were bad. End of story. And now they're good. Beginning of story.

Andy Dalton hit Green for a 21-yard pass in the final minutes to set up Josh Brown's 43-yard field goal with four seconds left to lift the Bengals to a 13-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.

Cincinnati (9-6) clinched a second straight playoff berth after beating the Steelers (7-8) for the first time since 2009. Pittsburgh (7-8) was eliminated from the postseason.

The only other time the Bengals made the playoffs in consecutive seasons came in 1981-82, six years before Green was born.

"This has been our goal coming in at the beginning of the season," Green said. "A lot of people talked about we hadn't been in in back to back seasons in 30 years. I don't worry about that stuff. I've been here two years, and we made the playoffs all two years. That's all we can control."

Brown missed a 56-yarder earlier in the fourth quarter but earned a second chance when Reggie Nelson picked off Ben Roethlisberger and returned it to the Pittsburgh 46 with 14 seconds remaining. Dalton found Green down the right sideline on the next play, setting up Brown's winner.

Dalton completed 24 of 41 passes for 278 yards and two interceptions for the Bengals, who snapped a five-game losing streak to Pittsburgh. Green caught 10 passes for 116 yards, and Cincinnati's defense never let the Steelers get comfortable.

Bengals 13, Steelers 10

Cincinnati 7 3 0 3 – 13

Pittsburgh 0 7 3 0 – 10

First quarter

Cin–Hall 17 interception return (Brown kick), 2:15.

Second quarter

Cin–FG Brown 41, 1:53.

Pit–A.Brown 60 pass from Roethlisberger (Suisham kick), 1:09.

Third quarter

Pit–FG Suisham 40, 4:01.

Fourth quarter

Cin–FG Brown 43, :04.

A: 63,236.

Cin   Pit

First downs 16   15

Total Net Yards 267   280

Rushes-yards 16-14   31-95

Passing 253   185

Punt Returns 3-(-2)   2-6

Kickoff Returns 0-0   3-67

Interceptions Ret. 2-27   2-6

Comp-Att-Int 24-41-2   14-28-2

Sacked-Yards Lost 6-25   4-35

Punts 6-52.7   7-45.3

Fumbles-Lost 1-1   2-1

Penalties-Yards 7-55   5-63

Time of Possession 28:15   31:45

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing: Cincinnati, Green-Ellis 15-14, M.Jones 1-0. Pittsburgh, Mendenhall 11-50, Dwyer 14-39, Redman 3-4, Roethlisberger 2-3, Wallace 1-(minus 1).

Passing: Cincinnati, Dalton 24-41-2-278. Pittsburgh, Roethlisberger 14-28-2-220.

Receiving: Cincinnati, Green 10-116, M.Jones 5-65, Gresham 3-38, Hawkins 3-30, Tate 1-23, Whalen 1-6, Green-Ellis 1-0. Pittsburgh, A.Brown 5-97, Miller 3-45, Redman 2-32, Cotchery 2-20, Sanders 1-13, Wallace 1-13.

Missed Field Goals: Cincinnati, Brown 56 (SH). Pittsburgh, Suisham 24 (WL), 53 (SH).