Wild Card Round: Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals (Paul Brown Stadium), the bracket opens here. Kickoff: Sun January 8, 2006 at 4:36pm. Winner advances to the divisional round. Loser starts the offseason early.[1][2]
Wild card weekend is the most chaotic football the calendar produces. Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium is the kind of game that decides whether a season was a long buildup or a quick exit. These are the games where the second-tier playoff teams have to prove they belong. Most don't. The few who do define the rest of January.
The bracket has narrowed to the teams that survived the regular season. Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals are two of them; the rest of the league is in scouting mode for the offseason. What happens in Paul Brown Stadium shifts the rest of the tree: a road favorite winning rearranges seeding expectations; a home upset shows the bracket math underweights heart.
Pittsburgh Steelers versus Cincinnati Bengals in the Wild Card Round. The teams who reach this round have already proven they survive a long schedule; the stats that matter most now are the ones that compress: scoring differential, red-zone efficiency, turnover margin. At this stage of the year, the simple math is that defenses tighten and the team that protects the ball wins more often than the team that scores the most. Whichever side of Pittsburgh Steelers-Cincinnati Bengals cleans up the careless plays first usually walks out with the result. Conservative-game expectations should not surprise the reader; both staffs know exactly what worked all season and will lean hard on what travels. The early answer is the kicking game, where any swing of field position compounds.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| New England Patriots | 10-6 | L1 |
| Miami Dolphins | 9-7 | W6 |
| Buffalo Bills | 5-11 | L1 |
| New York Jets | 4-12 | W1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Bengals | 11-5 | L2 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 11-5 | W4 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 6-10 | L1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 6-10 | W1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis Colts | 14-2 | W1 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 12-4 | W3 |
| Tennessee Titans | 4-12 | L3 |
| Houston Texans | 2-14 | L2 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Denver Broncos | 13-3 | W4 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 10-6 | W2 |
| San Diego Chargers | 9-7 | L2 |
| Oakland Raiders | 4-12 | L6 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle Seahawks | 13-3 | L1 |
| St. Louis Rams | 6-10 | W1 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 5-11 | -- |
| San Francisco 49ers | 4-12 | W2 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| New York Giants | 11-5 | W1 |
| Washington Redskins | 10-6 | W5 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 9-7 | L1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 6-10 | L2 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago Bears | 11-5 | L1 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 9-7 | W1 |
| Detroit Lions | 5-11 | L1 |
| Green Bay Packers | 4-12 | W1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Carolina Panthers | 11-5 | W1 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 11-5 | W2 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 8-8 | L3 |
| New Orleans Saints | 3-13 | L5 |
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| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 0 | 14 | 14 | 3 | 014283131 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1017171717 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Bengals | Shayne Graham 23 yard field goal | 0-3 |
| Bengals | Rudi Johnson 20 yard rush ( Shayne Graham kick) | 0-10 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Steelers | Willie Parker 19 yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger ( Jeff Reed kick) | 7-10 |
| Bengals | T.J. Houshmandzadeh 7 yard pass from Jon Kitna ( Shayne Graham kick) | 7-17 |
| Steelers | Hines Ward 5 yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger ( Jeff Reed kick) | 14-17 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Steelers | Jerome Bettis 5 yard rush ( Jeff Reed kick) | 21-17 |
| Steelers | Cedrick Wilson 43 yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger ( Jeff Reed kick) | 28-17 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Steelers | Jeff Reed 21 yard field goal | 31-17 |
Pittsburgh Steelers defeated Cincinnati Bengals 31-17 at Paul Brown Stadium in the Wild Card Round. The final scoring play was Steelers: Jeff Reed 21 yard field goal. Top line of the day: Ben Roethlisberger: 208 pass yards on 14-of-19, 3 TD, 0 INT. Pittsburgh Steelers advance to the divisional round.[1][2]
Pittsburgh Steelers walked out of Paul Brown Stadium as the team that survived a Wild Card Round Cincinnati Bengals will replay in its head for the entire offseason. The scoreboard says 31-17. The final scoring play came from Steelers: Jeff Reed 21 yard field goal. Whether it was the game-decider or just the period at the end of the sentence depends on what the camera caught earlier. Pittsburgh Steelers advance to the divisional round.
Pittsburgh Steelers 31, Cincinnati Bengals 17. Round: Wild Card Round. Attendance: 65870. Q1: 2 scoring plays. Q2: 3 scoring plays. Q3: 2 scoring plays. Q4: 1 scoring play. Top performers:
- Ben Roethlisberger: 208 pass yards on 14-of-19, 3 TD, 0 INT
- Rudi Johnson: 56 rush yards on 13 carries
- Cedrick Wilson: 3 catches for 104 yards
Wild Card Round, played at Paul Brown Stadium. Final: Pittsburgh Steelers 31, Cincinnati Bengals 17, with Pittsburgh Steelers taking the result by 14. **First quarter**
- Bengals: Shayne Graham 23 yard field goal
- Bengals: Rudi Johnson 20 yard rush ( Shayne Graham kick)
Second quarter
- Steelers: Willie Parker 19 yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger ( Jeff Reed kick)
- Bengals: T.J. Houshmandzadeh 7 yard pass from Jon Kitna ( Shayne Graham kick)
- Steelers: Hines Ward 5 yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger ( Jeff Reed kick)
Third quarter
- Steelers: Jerome Bettis 5 yard rush ( Jeff Reed kick)
- Steelers: Cedrick Wilson 43 yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger ( Jeff Reed kick)
Fourth quarter
- Steelers: Jeff Reed 21 yard field goal
Top performers
- Ben Roethlisberger: 208 pass yards on 14-of-19, 3 TD, 0 INT
- Rudi Johnson: 56 rush yards on 13 carries
- Cedrick Wilson: 3 catches for 104 yards
| Steelers | Bengals | |
|---|---|---|
| Team totals | ||
| First Downs | 19 | 19 |
| Total Yards | 346 | 327 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 2 |
| Passing | ||
| Comp/Att | 14/21 | 25/41 |
| Pass yards | 208 | 263 |
| Pass TD | 3 | 1 |
| Interceptions | 0 | 2 |
| Sacks taken | 1 | 4 |
| Sack yards lost | 6 | 20 |
| Net pass yards | 202 | 243 |
| Rushing | ||
| Rushes | 34 | 20 |
| Rush yards | 144 | 84 |
| Rush TD | 1 | 1 |
| Discipline | ||
| Fumbles | 0 | 2 |
| Fumbles lost | 0 | 0 |
| Penalties | 6 | 7 |
| Penalty yards | 39 | 90 |
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PIT | |||||
| Ben Roethlisberger | 14/19 | 208 | 3 | 0 | |
| Jerome Bettis | 0/1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Antwaan Randle El | 0/1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| CIN | |||||
| Jon Kitna | 24/40 | 197 | 1 | 2 | |
| Carson Palmer | 1/1 | 66 | 0 | 0 | |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PIT | ||||
| Jerome Bettis | 10 | 52 | 1 | 25 |
| Verron Haynes | 3 | 46 | 0 | 26 |
| Willie Parker | 16 | 38 | 0 | 7 |
| Antwaan Randle El | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Ben Roethlisberger | 4 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| CIN | ||||
| Rudi Johnson | 13 | 56 | 1 | 20 |
| Jon Kitna | 4 | 25 | 0 | 12 |
| Chris Perry | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Kyle Larson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PIT | ||||
| Cedrick Wilson | 3 | 104 | 1 | 54 |
| Willie Parker | 3 | 41 | 1 | 19 |
| Antwaan Randle El | 2 | 15 | 0 | 15 |
| Heath Miller | 2 | 15 | 0 | 9 |
| Verron Haynes | 1 | 14 | 0 | 14 |
| Hines Ward | 2 | 10 | 1 | 5 |
| Jerame Tuman | 1 | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| CIN | ||||
| Kevin Walter | 5 | 73 | 0 | 24 |
| Chris Henry | 1 | 66 | 0 | 66 |
| Chad Johnson | 4 | 59 | 0 | 24 |
| T.J. Houshmandzadeh | 4 | 25 | 1 | 8 |
| Rudi Johnson | 2 | 14 | 0 | 11 |
| Chris Perry | 6 | 11 | 0 | 6 |
| Matt Schobel | 2 | 11 | 0 | 8 |
| Reggie Kelly | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
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