2005 Wild Card · Sun, Jan 8, 2006 · Paul Brown Stadium
Pittsburgh SteelersWinner
31
at
Cincinnati Bengals
17
PIT -3 ✓O 44 ✓22 mph wind
Pittsburgh Steelers 31–17. Played in 22 mph wind — weigh that when reading the passing lines.
Pre-2018 game — box score & context only; play-by-play visuals start in 2018
Who moved the needle
Top performers
Full stat lines
Box score
Pittsburgh Steelers
Passing
| Player | C/Att | Yds | TD | INT | Sacked | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Roethlisberger | 14/19 | 208 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 16.7 |
| Jerome Bettis | 0/1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1.0 |
| Antwaan Randle El | 0/1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1.6 |
Rushing
| Player | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jerome Bettis | 10 | 52 | 5.2 | 1 | 3.0 |
| Verron Haynes | 3 | 46 | 15.3 | 0 | 2.4 |
| Willie Parker | 16 | 38 | 2.4 | 0 | -3.9 |
| Antwaan Randle El | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 0 | 1.5 |
| Ben Roethlisberger | 4 | 3 | 0.8 | 0 | -1.3 |
Defense (top contributors)
| Player | Solo | Ast | Sacks | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Larry Foote | 4 | 3 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Tyrone Carter | 7 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Troy Polamalu | 4 | 2 | 0.5 | 1 | 1 |
| Deshea Townsend | 5 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 2 |
| Clark Haggans | 2 | 2 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| James Farrior | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 |
| Chris Hope | 1 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
| Ike Taylor | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 2 |
| Aaron Smith | 1 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Andre Frazier | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
Cincinnati Bengals
Passing
| Player | C/Att | Yds | TD | INT | Sacked | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jon Kitna | 24/40 | 197 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -0.8 |
| Carson Palmer | 1/1 | 66 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.8 |
Rushing
| Player | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rudi Johnson | 13 | 56 | 4.3 | 1 | -0.2 |
| Jon Kitna | 4 | 25 | 6.3 | 0 | 1.7 |
| Chris Perry | 2 | 3 | 1.5 | 0 | -0.8 |
| Kyle Larson | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | -3.6 |
Defense (top contributors)
| Player | Solo | Ast | Sacks | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Odell Thurman | 3 | 5 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| David Pollack | 5 | 3 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kevin Kaesviharn | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Deltha O'Neal | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
| Ifeanyi Ohalete | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Justin Smith | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tory James | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brian Simmons | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| T.J. Houshmandzadeh | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robert Geathers | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
Closing number vs result
Betting context
- Closing spread
- PIT -3
- Closing total
- 44
- PIT moneyline
- —
- CIN moneyline
- —
Steelers closed -3 and covered, winning by 14.
Total closed 44; the game landed 48 — over by 4.0.
Conditions and crew
Game environment
- Venue
- Paul Brown Stadium
- Roof / surface
- outdoors · fieldturf
- Kickoff weather
- 61°F, wind 22 mph
- Referee
- Larry Nemmers
- Rest
- PIT 7 days · CIN 7 days
- Coaches
- Bill Cowher vs Marvin Lewis
Division game — familiarity tightens these matchups; closing numbers tend to be sharper.
Wind at 22 mph is the kind that drags passing depth and kicking range — weigh it when reading the splits.