Bengals keep playoff hopes alive with win, await fate Sunday - ESPN

PITTSBURGH — Cincinnati Bengals coach Zac Taylor popped into the visiting locker room at Acrisure Stadium and quickly made his way over to quarterback Joe Burrow following Saturday night's 19-17 win against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

They shared a quick embrace, exchanged a few words and continued celebrating what could be a very important victory. For at least one more night, Cincinnati's season is still alive.

The Bengals did their part to stay in playoff contention entering Sunday's slate of games. To secure the seventh and final seed in the AFC, they need losses from the Denver Broncos and the Miami Dolphins.

And if they get the help they need, Taylor said he feels there's no limit to what they can accomplish.

«They're capable of everything,» Taylor said of the season. «They're not going to want us in this tournament. I promise you.»

Everything looked easy on Saturday night against Pittsburgh (10-7) until it wasn't. After controlling the first three quarters of the game, the Bengals (9-8) were forced to cling to a lead that was on the verge of slipping away. However, a late stop by the team's defense, including one of defensive end Trey Hendrickson's 3.5 sacks on the night, sealed the win. Hendrickson finished the regular season with 17.5 sacks. Houston's Danielle Hunter, the only player who could now catch Hendrickson as this season's sack leader, has 12 entering Sunday.

Cincinnati's defense turned in a vastly improved performance from the previous meeting between the teams. In the Dec. 1 loss to the Steelers, the Bengals gave up 520 yards in a 44-38 defeat. Pittsburgh finished with 193 total yards and was 4-of-12 on third-down conversions.

«I just feel like we owed them,» cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt said. «Y'all know