Bengals News (12/22): Finally

Bernard Typifies Bengals' Bare-Knuckled Victory Over Steelers
"We knew it was going to be a dirty game. Coach Taylor brought it up," said running back Giovani Bernard after he ran and caught it for a combined 97 yards on a night yards were sparse. "When you play those divisional games, the records don't matter. It's about who wants it more and it just showed just the type of mentality that we had going into the game. We started off hot coming back after the second half, we started off slow, but we continued to keep fighting."

Bengals Notebook: Game Balls For All; Zac's Call Draws Praise; Finley Reads Out First Win; Bell-Weather Hit
With 25 carries running back Giovani Bernard had his most work in six years and his 83 yards were his most in three years. Quarterback Ryan Finley picked up his first NFL win running for a touchdown, throwing for another, plus a killing third-and-six quarterback draw. Safety Vonn Bell had the hit of the season while getting in on a fumble for the third time in four games. Edge rusher Carl Lawson had a sack and slowed down Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's feared quick release with five other hits. Cornerback Darius Phillips had three of the Bengals' ten passes defensed and …

Steelers vs. Bengals highlights Week 15
Watch the highlights from the Week 15 matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals.

Bengals' best defensive plays in win over Steelers Week 15
Check out some of the Cincinnati Bengals' best defensive plays against the Pittsburgh Steelers on "Monday Night Football" in Week 15.

Cincinnati Bengals defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 27-17, on Monday Night Football in Week 15
The Bengals flipped everyone's narrative Monday night when their defense blanked the Steelers in the first half and then prevented another fourth-quarter comeback by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in a stunning 27-17 victory at Paul Brown Stadium.

Bengals' upset of Steelers might be just what coach Zac Taylor needed
Taylor's fifth win in two seasons with the Bengals should quiet those who have asked about his job security after a rough couple of years. Cincinnati (3-10-1) was a 14.5-point underdog at home and beat the AFC North-leading Steelers (11-3) for the first time since 2015. On Monday Night Football, no less.

Sluggish start dooms Pittsburgh Steelers on MNF as late-season losing skid reaches three games
"We've just got to play our brand of football. Attack the line of scrimmage, offense and defense. We need to make plays early and not be in a catch-up game. As a defense, if you get in the red zone, it's got to be three points or nothing. It can't be touchdowns. They go up early, and to start 17-0, you're asking for a lot from our offense. Our offense just has to start fast."

Cincinnati Bengals', New York Jets' upset wins not seen since 1973
The Bengals, who closed as consensus 14.5-point home underdogs, beat the Steelers 24-17 in the second-largest upset, point spread-wise, in Monday Night Football history, according to ESPN Stats and Information research. The Baltimore Colts defeated the New England Patriots as 17-point underdogs in 1978.

Cincinnati Bengals WR Tyler Boyd ruled out with concussion
Boyd was injured in the first quarter following an incomplete pass. He leaped to attempt to grab a deep ball from Bengals quarterback Ryan Finley but was unable to traverse two Steelers defenders.

Bengals made MNF history with physical takedown of Steelers
Cincinnati brought a different type of energy to the game, capitalizing on mistakes by Ben Roethlisberger and rocking logo-dancing wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster, forcing a fumble.

Bengals' Vonn Bell says hit on JuJu Smith-Schuster gave Cincinnati 'so much energy' in upset win over Steelers
All Vonn Bell wanted to do was set the tone for the Cincinnati Bengals, a team that had lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers 11 consecutive times (including the postseason). The Bengals safety had that opportunity in the first quarter against their AFC North rivals, planting Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster as he was coming across the middle of the field near midfield -- a microcosm of the Bengals' upset victory over the Steelers.

Steelers loss to Bengals opens the AFC North door for the Browns
The Cincinnati Bengals gave their in-state rivals an early Christmas gift on Monday night. The Bengals beat the suddenly reeling Pittsburgh Steelers, 27-21, on Monday Night Football.

Steelers at Bengals score: Cincinnati stuns Pittsburgh on 'MNF,' opens door for Browns in AFC North
Mike Tomlin may have publicly challenged his Pittsburgh Steelers to toughen up ahead of their Week 15 showdown with their AFC North rivals, but the result on Monday night was not pretty. With a chance to secure a firm place atop the division, the Steelers instead went backward in a hurry, watching as a hapless offensive first half gifted the Bengals early scores, as a wholly off-target Ben Roethlisberger gave Cincinnati repeated bursts of momentum, and as a 2-10-1 team thoroughly outplayed a supposed 11-2 contender, logging a 27-17 victory to throw a serious wrench into the AFC playoff picture.

Ryan Finley gets first NFL win in Bengals' MNF upset of Steelers
In the Cincinnati Bengals' 27-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Finley passed for a touchdown and rushed for an additional score to upset the previously 11-2 Steelers. It was a night where the Bengals' ground game -- which also included former UNC RB Gio Bernard -- was dominant, and Finley had the biggest rushing performance of his career.

'Two weeks out' from playoffs, skidding Steelers not getting job done
Monday night brought valid reasons to sound the alarms. Pittsburgh fell to the woeful Bengals, who entered their late-season, prime-time affair with little to be proud of since losing promising rookie quarterback Joe Burrow to a season-ending knee injury. Cincinnati had largely been lifeless in its last month, and it seemed as if the offensively struggling Steelers had received a scheduling gift at a perfect time.

What we learned from Bengals' win over Steelers on Monday night
With a chance to wrap up the AFC North, the Pittsburgh Steelers instead found disaster in the form of an inspired Cincinnati Bengals bunch. Jumping out to a 17-point first-half lead, the Bengals were led by a tenacious defense and the offensive play of quarterback Ryan Finley and running back Giovani Bernard as they stunned the Steelers with a massive 27-17 Monday night upset. Once the last undefeated team in the league, the Steelers lost their third game in a row, while the Bengals snapped a five-game losing skid.

Around the league

2021 NFL Draft order: Jaguars No. 1; Eagles in top seven
This is a look at the first-round order for the 2021 NFL Draft heading into Week 16 of the NFL season, along with the top three needs for each team. The order is determined by record, using strength of schedule as the first tiebreaker (click here to see a full list of the draft-order tiebreakers). Keep in mind -- teams 19-32 would make the playoffs if the season ended today and are marked as PL (short for playoffs) in the order below. The draft order for playoff teams is determined by the results of postseason play.

Carolina Panthers-Washington Football Team Week 16 matchup moved to late window
The NFL announced Tuesday morning that the Week 16 game, which was originally set for a 1 p.m. ET kickoff, will now be played at 4:05 p.m. ET. The contest will still air on CBS as planned.

NFL reveals complete AFC, NFC rosters for 2021 Pro Bowl
The 2021 Pro Bowl Game originally was scheduled to be played Jan. 31 in Las Vegas, but was canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, the NFL is working with EA Sports to create a week-long series of matchups featuring celebrities, NFL Legends, current players and streamers playing the official Pro Bowl rosters on Madden NFL 21. The week culminates in a virtual Pro Bowl game with 2021 Pro Bowl players playing within Madden, which will be available for fans to watch across a variety of platforms.

2021 NFL Pro Bowl snubs: Trey Hendrickson, Ryan Tannehill among 10 players who deserved honor
Sacks are an incomplete statistic when used to evaluate a player's performance -- especially critically -- but Hendrickson's league-high 12.5 sacks (tied with Aaron Donald) never should've been overlooked. This is a great example of how reputation often influences Pro Bowl selections, too, considering Hendrickson's teammate, Cameron Jordan, made the Pro Bowl while trailing his teammate in every significant pass-rushing category.