Steelers Ride Dominant Defense to Win over Bengals in B/R Madden GOAT Sim

The Pittsburgh Steelers easily routed the Cincinnati Bengals, 24-9, in the B/R Madden 20 GOAT Sim tournament, proving yet again how legendary their history is on defense. 

Next up is a rivalry game between the Steelers and Baltimore Ravens for the right to reach the Elite Eight. 

Even with Ken Anderson starting at quarterback and Corey Dillon lining up at tailback behind him, the Bengals could hardly muster any offense in the AFC North battle. The Steelers defense forced two crucial turnovers, with both resulting in points.

In the first quarter, James Harrison recovered a fumble, setting up Ben Roethlisberger & Co. at midfield. A few plays later, Roethlisberger hit John Stallworth for the first of two touchdowns connections between the two. The Bengals responded by marching down the field but stalled in the red zone. That led to a fake field goal call by Cincy that ended with a pass sailing out of the end zone. Fortunately, the Bengals made up for it, quickly tackling Roethlisberger in the end zone on the next play for a safety. 

Unfortunately, those were the only two points the Bengals would score until the closing moments of regulation. 

The next turnover came via Donnie Shell, who was named player of the game, after knocking the ball loose from the arms of tight end Jermaine Gresham. Shell returned it to the house untouched to take a commanding 14-2 lead midway through the third quarter. 

The only Cincinnati touchdown came by way of Chad Johnson, who hauled in a pass from Anderson just before the game ended. 

Anderson finished 22-of-30 with 169 yards, while Roethlisberger tallied 103 yards on 11 completions against 13 attempts.