Bengals-Steelers: A Step Outside the Box

Not very often do I write coverage on games that don't involve the New England Patriots.

The implications of this game, I felt, were big enough to warrant a step outside the Northeastern box I've resided in for so long.

Well...Heinz Field is still in the Northeast. So maybe this isn't a step too far outside the box.

This game wasn't much of a step outside the box, either.

The Bengals have won a lot of low-scoring games this season, and they did so again today.

One step outside the box, though, was Pittsburgh's offense, which scored 27 or more points in its past five contests; they produced only four field goals today.

Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger, who has thrown a touchdown pass in every game this season, failed to do so today. The Steelers have become a passing team this season, but that seems to be what doomed them today.

Roethlisberger is one of the most "outside the box" quarterbacks, excelling when he is on the run. He is still sacked too often in key spots.

On three red-zone possessions, the Steelers failed to produce a touchdown. He was sacked two times on plays from inside the 10. One of those sacks was a drive-killer on 3rd-and-8.

Carson Palmer took a step outside the box by also failing to throw a touchdown pass, but his efficiency was on par with his season numbers; he completed exactly 60 percent of his passes.

Contrary to Roethlisberger's four sacks resulting in 28 yards lost, Palmer was only sacked twice for 21 yards.

After being swept by the Bengals for the first time since 1998, it may be time for Pittsburgh to return to its run-heavy days.

It's still unclear whether Roethlisberger can carry an offense on his arm alone, as he's always had top-notch run support until this season.

Mike Ditka said it best on NFL Sunday Countdown when he mentioned that the Bengals spent all off-season building their team to beat the Steelers.

They wanted to take a step outside the box with an aggressive, hard-nosed team that played physically on defense as opposed to the paper-tiger defensive units the Bengals have fielded as of late. 

The Bengals pulled off the season sweep of the Steelers by beating them at their own game.

With the result of today's game, it's tough to say whether it would benefit the Steelers more to go back to thinking inside the box, figuratively and literally.

Would they be better off going back to pounding the ball down the defense's throat in the running game? Or should they think outside the box with the aerial assault and hope that things continue to develop?

All season long, the Bengals have succeeded by proving all their doubters wrong. It appears the Bengals have taken a step outside the box, no longer the victim of total domination at the hands of their black-and-gold rivals, and appear to be on their way to a huge step outside the box for Marvin Lewis...a winning record.

Only time will tell if this is a step outside the box, or merely a quick escape from it.