Mason Rudolph outplays Jake Browning, Bengals' playoff hopes take hit with loss to Steelers

Jake Browning's magical run – and perhaps the Cincinnati Bengals' playoff hopes — started to crash on one aimless pass to the end zone.

The Bengals already trailed the Pittsburgh Steelers 7-0, having given up an 86-yard touchdown to George Pickens. They were about to get a field goal back when Browning looked like he was throwing a ball away as he rolled to his right. But the pass didn't go to the sideline. It just floated until Patrick Peterson had an easy interception in the end zone.

During the Bengals' three-game winning streak, Browning wasn't perfect, but he wasn't making egregious mistakes that killed his team. Then on Saturday, he didn't do much right against a Steelers team that looked as bad as any team in the NFL over its past three games. That bad interception started a costly afternoon of errors.

Mason Rudolph, the Steelers' third quarterback this season, had a 290-yard day, and fans chanted his name as the Steelers offense looked as good as it has all season in the 34-11 win. Pickens, who was under the microscope all week due to his lack of effort last week, had a monster game, with 195 yards and two touchdowns. It helped that the Bengals didn't bother covering or tackling him on a few big plays.

It was just that kind of day for Cincinnati. The Bengals aren't dead in the playoff race, but things look a lot bleaker after Browning finally looked like a guy who hadn't taken an NFL snap in his first four seasons out of college. A few AFC teams in the wild-card race perked up at the Bengals dropping a game and taking a big hit to their playoff chances.

Bengals take a big loss

NFL's Next Gen Stats laid out clearly how much Saturday's game meant for the Bengals. With a win, they had a 60% chance to make the playoffs, according to the projections. A loss dipped it to 16%.

That's why it was so surprising to see the Bengals start so poorly. The defense allowed a short slant to Pickens to turn into an 86-yard score, the longest play from scrimmage in the NFL this season. The offense gave away the ball twice in the first half, first on Browning's lofted pass to nobody in the end zone, and then he had another bad interception in the second quarter that led to a Steelers touchdown. That gave Pittsburgh a 21-0 lead.

What made the first half even more confusing was that the Steelers were miserable during a three-game losing streak. They lost to the Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots, who are 4-22 against the rest of the NFL. They were horrible in a 30-13 loss to an Indianapolis Colts team that was dealing with multiple injuries. Then the Steelers looked reborn against the Bengals. They led 24-0 at halftime.

The win doesn't put the Steelers in a great spot for the playoffs, even though they improved to 8-7. Next Gen Stats say their playoff odds improved to 12% with a win. They're not dead, but they're not really alive, either.

Steelers have best game in weeks

If there was any doubt about the outcome of the game, the Bengals ended that late in the second quarter. They drove deep into Steelers territory and faced a fourth-and-inches. Instead of lining up under center, the Bengals went to the shotgun and, needing just a few inches, threw incomplete to the end zone. It's not like there was much suspense at that point, but what there was vanished on that questionable play call.

The Bengals fought hard to stay in the playoff race after Joe Burrow's injury. Browning had three excellent performances in a row, and it looked like the Bengals would sneak into the playoff bracket. It was hard to see that momentum end the way it did, with a poor effort from the defense, horrible mistakes from the quarterback and a miserable fourth-and-inches call from the coaching staff.

The result was important in the AFC wild-card race. The Colts, Texans, Bills and Broncos weren't upset to see the Bengals come back to the pack a bit, as the Bengals' loss gave all of those teams some extra hope as they got ready for their Week 16 game.

This late in the season, every game among teams on the playoff bubble has a big impact on the playoff race. The first AFC game of Week 16 was a big one in the playoff picture, particularly to Cincinnati. The Bengals undid a lot of good things from the past few weeks in just a few horrible hours Saturday.