STEELERS Black and gold down and out

By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
PITTSBURGH -- For 29 minutes in a second half they desperately needed to save their season, the Pittsburgh Steelers excelled like a defending division champion, outscoring Cincinnati 17-3 to overcome an 11-point halftime deficit.
But in the final 65 seconds, the Steelers reverted to the form that has them 4-8, surrendering a 52-yard touchdown drive after a short kickoff and long return in the Cincinnati Bengals' 24-20 victory.
"It hurts," Steelers coach Bill Cowher said. "In games like this, you've got to make plays at the end."
Time to think
The Steelers will have plenty of time in January to think of ways to produce late. Sunday's loss at Heinz Field -- their fourth in six games here this season -- all but ends their hopes of repeating and earning a third-straight postseason berth.
Adding insult to injury was how well the Steelers played for most of the final two quarters. Except for wide receiver Chad Johnson's 57-yard catch-and-run play that set up a Bengals field goal midway through the fourth quarter, the Steelers resembled the team that has won two consecutive AFC North titles.
But for the fourth time since Oct. 12, the Steelers defenders failed to keep their opponent within reach in the final minutes.
This time, the collapse came after quarterback Tommy Maddox engineered an 80-yard scoring drive capped by a 16-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Hines Ward with 1:05 to go.
Maddox completed 9-of-10 passes in the 11-play drive as the Steelers took their only lead, 20-17.
It took the Bengals just 52 seconds to respond. Kicker Jeff Reed's 49-yard boot combined with Brandon Bennett's 27-yard return to the Cincinnati 48 got the Bengals rolling.
No excuses
"I kicked it as hard as I could," Reed said, "and it just so happened that it hung up in the air longer than it went out. It wasn't a mis-hit -- it was meant to go deep middle. I got under it more than I should have, I guess."
Cowher's take? "We didn't call for a pooch kick."
After Bengals quarterback Jon Kitna hit wide receiver Peter Warrick for an 18-yard pickup, Bennett bulldozed his way forward for 16 more. After an incomplete pass, Kitna found tight end Matt Schobel in the center of the end zone for the winning points.
Kitna completed 18-of-32 passes for 271 yards.
"We were in a zone and [Kitna] threw a good pass," cornerback Deshea Townsend said. "He caught it one-on-one in the back of the end zone. They caught us in a good defense and they ran a good play."
Cowher said he told his team at intermission that "this is a very defining moment for this football team. A year ago, down 11, that's nothing.
"We came out, fought back with a very gutsy effort to take the lead with [1:05] to go. And to suddenly have that whisked away on five or six plays, it hurts."
And then there were the first-half mistakes by cornerback Chad Scott that helped the Bengals jump ahead 14-3.
DBs asleep
On the Bengals' second possession, Scott failed to run with wide receiver Kelley Washington down the right sideline. Washington hauled in Kitna's 26-yard pass and ran another 25 for the game's first score.
Six minutes into the second quarter, Reed booted a 23-yard field goal to cut the gap to 7-3.
Late in the half, Scott was burned again as none of the Steelers defensive backs picked up Johnson in the corner of the end zone. Cowher blamed miscommunication for Johnson being unguarded on the 4-yard touchdown toss.
"If you look at us defensively on all three plays, we dropped coverage on the first touchdown pass, the second one we have miscommunication with the corners and they leave a guy wide open that we had designed to double," Cowher said.
"And the other big play was that we were not playing the right coverage with the right corner."
Inside of two minutes, the Steelers quickly marched into Bengals territory. But Maddox hyperextended his knee when Bengals linemen Oliver Gibson and Justin Smith sacked him at the Cincinnati 32, sending backup Charlie Batch into the game.
Batch completed his first pass to wide receiver Plaxico Burress for a 22-yard pickup to the 10. Wide receiver Antwaan Randle El dropped his second toss while turning forward.
"It hit me in the hands," Randle El said. "It went through to my helmet, but I took my eye off of it."
Fumble
The next play ended the scoring threat as Batch's toss while being sacked by linebacker Brian Simmons was ruled a backwards pass -- and a fumble -- and defensive tackle John Thornton recovered.
Maddox played the entire second half, finishing with 313 yards passing by completing 28-of-42 attempts.
Jerome Bettis' 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter capped a 12-play, 75-yard march that put the Steelers back in the game, 14-10.
Reed (39 yards) and Bengals kicker Shayne Graham (44 yards) exchanged field goals in the fourth quarter.
williams@vindy.com