Stat of the Jay: Happy Endings Prevalent in Pittsburgh, Too, But Bengals Will Try To Spoil the Party

Jay Morrison | Jan 3, 2025

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Auden Tate (19) is unable to complete a catch as Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Coty Sensabaugh (24) defends in the fourth quarter of a Week 17 NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2018, at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. The Cincinnati Bengals lead 10-3 at halftime. The Pittsburgh Steelers won 16-13. Cincinnati Bengals At Pittsburgh Steelers 12 30 2018 / Kareem Elgazzar

CINCINNATI – Last week we focused on the Cincinnati Bengals’ ability to “send them home” happy with their incredible record in home finales, which improved to 12-1 in the last 13 with Saturday’s win against the Denver Broncos.

But happy endings also are prevalent in Pittsburgh, where the Bengals head Saturday to wrap the regular season against the Steelers for the fifth time in franchise history.

Since Mike Tomlin became the head coach of the Steelers in 2007, Pittsburgh is 17-4 in games played in Weeks 17-18.

When those games are at home, the Steelers are 9-1.

Last year, Pittsburgh played its home finale in Week 16 before finishing with back-to-back road games.

That home game was against the Bengals, and it was a 34-11 victory for the Steelers, continuing their run of success in home finales.

As far as the final home game of the season, Pittsburgh has won four in a row and 15 of 16.

The lone exception was a 17-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 15, 2019.

The Steelers beat the Bengals 16-13 in their 2018 season finale, which was at home. It was a game that was notable for a couple of reasons.

First, it was Marvin Lewis’ final game as head coach of the Bengals.

Second, the victory moved Pittsburgh to 9-6-1 and gave them a chance to win the AFC North Division if the Baltimore Ravens lost to the Cleveland Browns. That game in Baltimore still was being played after the Steelers secured their win, so the players sat down on the field and watched the ending on the video boards.

The Ravens held on for a 26-24 win to capture the division and eliminate Pittsburgh from the playoffs.

The Steelers also beat the Bengals in their 2014 season finale, which also was at home and also had division championship ramifications.

Cincinnati would have won the division with a victory, and the Bengals, down by three, were driving in Pittsburgh territory with 3:51 remaining when A.J. Green took a blow to the head that caused him to fumble and left him with a concussion

The Steelers got a 63-yard touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Antonio Brown a couple of plays later to win the game 27-17 and capture the division title.

Green’s concussion lingered into the following week, and he was unable to play in the Wildcard loss at Indianapolis.

The Bengals also faced the Steelers in their final game of the season in 2005 and 2015 – when Pittsburgh won Wildcard games in Cincinnati.

Best Home Finale Records Since 2007

Bengals 16-2

Steelers 15-2

Patriots 14-3

49ers 13-5

Bills 13-5

Chargers 13-5

Colts 12-5

Ravens 12-5

Falcons 11-6

For more on the Bengals, subscribe to our YouTube Channel.

Make sure you bookmark BengalsTalk.com for the latest Bengals news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!

-----

Join the 47,000+ Bengals fans that subscribe to us on YouTube.

Follow us on Twitter: @BengalsTalkSI

Like Our Facebook Page

Follow on TikTok