After a wild game fought between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals, head coach Mike Tomlin and his team increased their current winning streak to an impressive mark of 5.

The match up had its usual taste of a Steelers/Bengals game, fueled by penalties and ill feelings towards each other. Pittsburgh appeared to be in some trouble early, but quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and the offense stuck to their game plan, and ultimately came out victorious.

Speaking of Big Ben, he had one of his better road performances of the year, posting a 93 QB rating, and throwing for 286 yards, 1 touchdown, and zero interceptions. Those numbers don’t jump off the screen by any means, but that “0” in the interception column is awfully nice to see after Ben threw 3 in Buffalo.

Guys not named AB

Roethlisberger spread it around to seven different receivers in the game, as the Bengals seemed largely focused on containing All-Pro wide receiver, Antonio Brown.

For the first time since week 5, Sammie Coates caught a pass from Ben Roethlisberger.

It wasn’t Sammie’s usual calling card a.k.a the deep ball.

Instead, Coates ran an out route and converted for a first down.

The catch was minor in yardage, but major in a confidence boost. Hopefully the 10 yard grab is a sign that Sammie’s fingers are finally OK.

That was Coates’ lone catch on the day, but it tied his counterpart Cobi Hamilton, who he got the start over this week.

However, I don’t want to belittle Hamilton, at all. Cobi had another impressive grab on a very important 3rd down play. (Stop me if you’ve heard that before.) He only does it every week, it seems.

Cobi does a fantastic job of recognizing the play has broken down, and he makes himself visible for his quarterback (Ben) who was flushed out to his left.

It’s obvious that the coaching staff wants Sammie Coates to step up and get more snaps, but as long as Hamilton continues to show consistent hands and awareness for a Steelers receiver, I don’t mind him being out there as much as he is. Like Coates, Cobi only accounted for one catch on the day.

Burfict Factor

Earlier, I said this game had it’s usual “taste” of Steelers/Bengals.

Well smack dab in the middle of that taste is the sour stench of Vontaze Burfict. On this play below, Ben Roethlisberger so clearly does not have the ball anymore. Obviously seeing this, Burfict proceeds to toss Ben to the ground right in front of an official. Roethlisberger (thankfully) was OK, so thanks for the free yards, Vontaze.

If you watch closely, Burfict’s line of vision goes directly from Ben to Sammie Coates (the ball carrier) after he throws Roethlisberger to the ground excessively. He knew where the ball was.

Personally, I can’t wait until this guy illegally hits his way out of the league.

Despite Burfict being a jagoff, the reverse was still well-executed. Offensive coordinator, Todd Haley, was showing that he wanted Coates involved, but it was one of his other favorite receivers whole stole the show in the game.

Someone else not named Antonio

Eli Rogers contributed heavily to the Steelers victory, and had one of (if not the best) days of his young career. Rogers caught 5 passes for 75 yards, and the game winning touchdown to top it all off.

Before he found paydirt, Eli did the dirty work to deserve it. He ran crisp routes and made himself open for Ben on numerous occasions. Below, is a crucial play as it later led to a much needed Chris Boswell field goal.

#26 for Cincinnati never knew where Rogers went. Eli ran the route to perfection, and it wouldn’t be the first time we saw his display of fancy footwork.

Late in the game the Steelers chose to go back to a similar play, where Rogers appears to run the exact (if not very close to) same route as before, only #26 is in press coverage this time. The results however, were the same.

Rogers absolutely cooked the defender, and Roethlisberger put the ball between the 1 and the 7 on his jersey for the score.

After obtaining their first lead of the contest, Pittsburgh only had to run clock. Recent 2016 pro bowl voted running back, Le’Veon Bell, helped with that.

Le’Veon earned himself 93 yards on the ground, but he makes it over 100 if you tack on the penalty yards he helped receive from the Bengals. Cincinnati collectively tossed Bell to the ground well after the whistle had been blown.

Juice kept his cool, as he did for the entire game, and earned his team 15 positive yards after being thrown down.

Green is gold

Ladarius Green made his presence felt in a big way. The starting tight end hauled in 5 catches(tying Rogers and Bell for the team lead) for 72 yards.

Green made his most important catch late in the game, which basically put it away for the Steelers.

The only negative to take away from #89’s performance, is the concussion he suffered after his final catch on the day.

Ladarius has helped the offense evolve, and although being a tight end, helps stretch the field. Hopefully the Steelers can get him back soon, but you can’t rush this type of injury. Obviously Green’s health comes first.