Pittsburgh 18, Cincinnati 16
Jan. 9, 2016
AFC Wild Card
Post-Game Notes

TEAM

• The Steelers improved to 34-23 in postseason history.
• Pittsburgh's 34 playoff victories are tied for the most in NFL history with Dallas.
• Improved to 2-0 against the Cincinnati Bengals in playoff history (2-0 in Wild Card).
• The Steelers are now 15-3 all-time (regular and post-season) in games played at Paul Brown Stadium.
• Pittsburgh is now 5-4 overall in Wild Card playoff games in team history.
• The Steelers have won 10 of their last 14 playoff games.
• The Steelers are now 10-1 in the third meeting of a season – all playoff games – against a division opponent.
• Team totaled 167 rushing yards on 25 carries (5.8 average).
• Held Cincinnati scoreless through the first three quarters – the Steelers first postseason first half shutout since the 1979 Divisional Playoff game vs. Miami – and first time holding an opponent scoreless through the first three quarters of a playoff game since the 1975 AFC Championship vs. Oakland.
• The defense tallied 3.0 sacks – its first three sack postseason game since Super Bowl XLV vs. Green Bay.
• Limited the Bengals to 10 rushing yards (8 carries), 56 total net yards and two first downs in the first half.

Head Coach Mike Tomlin
• Improved to 6-4 in the postseason since becoming the Steelers head coach in 2007.
• Is 1-0 against the Cincinnati Bengals in the playoffs.

QB Ben Roethlisberger
• Made his 16th career postseason start and completed 18-of-31 passes for 229 yards with a touchdown for a passer rating of 92.0.
• Engineered his fourth career postseason fourth quarter comeback (38th overall), leading the team on a nine-play, 74 yard drive in 1:09.
• Improved to 11-5 as a starter in the playoffs, including 4-1 on the road in the postseason.
• Is now 12-2 as a starter in his career in games played at Paul Brown Stadium (regular and postseason).
• Increased his postseason passing yardage total to 3,713 to join Terry Bradshaw (3,833) as the second player in team history with at least 3,500 postseason passing yards.
• Connected with Martavis Bryant on a 10-yard touchdown pass. Has thrown a touchdown pass each of his previous four postseason games and in 14-of-16 career postseason appearances.
• Has registered a QB rating of 80.0 or better in 8-of-16 postseason games, improving to 8-0 in the playoffs when he reaches the mark.

**

QB Landry Jones**
• Made his NFL postseason debut after entering the game in the fourth quarter and completed 2-of-5 passes for 11 yards.

WR Antonio Brown
• Led all players with game-highs of seven catches for 119 receiving yards – a single-game playoff high.
• Has registered at least one reception in 90 consecutive games in which he has played, including the postseason – dating back to October 3, 2010.
• Hauled in his 20th career postseason catch on his first reception, becoming the 11th player in Steelers postseason history with 20 catches.
• Has caught at least five passes in three consecutive playoff games, joining Hines Ward (5 consecutive and 3 consecutive), Plaxico Burress (3) and Ernie Mills (3) as the fourth player to have such a postseason streak in team history.
• Tied Yancey Thigpen for the ninth-most receptions in Steelers postseason history.
• Surpassed Plaxico Burress for the seventh-most receiving yards in Steelers playoff history, now with 396.
• Has recorded 100 receiving yards in back-to-back playoff games, becoming the fourth Steeler (fifth occasion) to register consecutive 100-yard postseason games (Hines Ward, two occasions, Ernie Mills and John Stallworth).
• Set a new single-game playoff-high with 119 receiving yards, surpassing his 117-yard game in the 2014 AFC Wild Card (Jan. 3, 2015 vs. Baltimore).

WR Martavis Bryant

• Caught five passes for 29 yards, including a 10-yard touchdown pass from QB Ben Roethlisberger. Has caught a touchdown in each of his first two career playoff games.
• Recorded a 44-yard run in the third quarter, the second rush attempt of his postseason career, and a career playoff long.

TE Ben Roethlisberger
• Caught two passes for nine yards.
• Has caught a pass in 10 consecutive postseason games played and in 13-of-14 career playoff games.
• Tied Lynn Swann (48) for the fourth-most receptions in Steelers' postseason history, now with 48.
• Increased his postseason receiving yards total to 582 – fifth-most in Steelers history.

WR Markus Wheaton
• Caught two passes for 23 receiving yards.

RB Fitzgerald Toussaint
• Made his Steelers postseason debut, third overall playoff game and finished with 118 yards from scrimmage (58 rushing and 60 receiving). Carried the ball 17 times for 58 yards and added four catches for 60 yards.

RB Jordan Todman
• Made his NFL postseason debut and rushed for a game high 65 yards on 11 carries (5.9 average).

LB William Gay
• Recorded a sack of Cincinnati QB AJ McCarron in the first quarter, increasing his Steelers postseason sack total to 7.5– the second-most by a Steeler since sacks became an official statistic in 1982 behind only LaMarr Woodley with 11.0.

LB Ryan Shazier

• Led the defense with single-game playoff high 13 tackles (9 solo) and recorded his first career postseason forced fumble and fumble recovery on the same play in the third quarter. Finished with two forced fumbles.

LB Ryan Shazier
• Recorded a strip-sack of Cincinnati QB AJ McCarron in the third quarter – his first career postseason sack and forced fumble.

DE Cameron Heyward
• Recorded a strip-sack of Cincinnati QB AJ McCarron in the second quarter – the first sack and forced fumble of his postseason career.

DE Cam Thomas
• Recovered a fumble forced by LB Jarvis Jones – the first fumble recovery of his postseason career.

CB Robert Golden
• Picked off Cincinnati QB AJ McCarron in the second quarter – his first career postseason interception – and the first by the Steelers in the postseason since the 2010 AFC Divisional game vs. Baltimore (Ryan Clark, Jan. 15, 2011).

K Chris Boswell

• Made his playoff debut and converted each of his four career postseason field goal attempts for 12 points: 39, 30, 34 and 35 yards. His 35 yard field goal as the game-winner with 14 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, his second career game-winning kick (regular season and postseason).
• Tied a record for the most field goals in a Steelers postseason game: Gary Anderson in the 1989 postseason at Houston and Norm Johnson in the 1994 postseason vs. Buffalo.
• Set a record or the most field goals made by a Steelers rookie/first-year kicker in a playoff game.
• Became the sixth kicker in team history (10th occasion) to tally 10 points in a postseason game since 1960.

P Jordan Berry
• Made his NFL postseason debut and landed 3-of-7 punts inside the Cincinnati 20-yard line.