One Play in Cincinnati Bengals' Loss to Pittsburgh Steelers Sums Up 2024 Season

The Bengals are 4-8 following the loss.

Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt (57) pressures Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson (3) as he throws in the fourth quarter of the NFL Week 13 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Pittsburgh Steelers at Paycor Stadium in downtown Cincinnati on Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. The Steelers won 44-38. / Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

CINCINNATI — The Bengals are 4-8 following Sunday's 44-38 loss to the Steelers at Paycor Stadium.

They fall to 1-7 in one-score games this season, with their lone win coming in Cleveland when the Browns scored a garbage time touchdown to trim Cincinnati's lead to 21-14.

The Bengals have struggled to close out games and they've struggled to make critical plays in key moments.

Sunday was no different.

The Bengals rallied from a 41-24 fourth quarter deficit and trimmed the lead to 44-38. The Steelers faced a 3rd-and-4 on Cincinnati's 40-yard line with 1:54 left.

Pittsburgh brought in Justin Fields at quarterback and he ran a simple read option play, keeping the ball after faking a handoff and running for seven yards to end the game.

Had the Bengals been disciplined on that play and not let Fields run for an easy first down, they would've likely given Joe Burrow a chance to win the game.

Instead, the Steelers were able to run the clock out.

Those are the type of plays the Bengals have failed to make all season.

Most of them have been on defense. Some of them have been on offense.

Bad football teams fail to make plays in key moments. The Bengals fit that description. Watch the play and check out a few tweets reacting to it below:

CB should be playing the QB here no idea what he's doing https://t.co/JctUvST4FW

— mike (@bengals_sans) December 1, 2024

I think that should be the last play of Anarumo's tenure. Why in the world wouldn't you have someone assigned to Fields on the read? Insane.

— mike (@bengals_sans) December 1, 2024

They didn't put Justin Fields in the game to throw it🤣

— James Rapien (@JamesRapien) December 1, 2024

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