2009 Week 3 · Sun, Sep 27, 2009 · Paul Brown Stadium
Pittsburgh Steelers
20
at
Cincinnati BengalsWinner
23
PIT -3.5 upsetO 36.5 ✓
Cincinnati Bengals 23–20 — decided on the final possessions.
Pre-2018 game — box score & context only; play-by-play visuals start in 2018
Who moved the needle
Top performers
Passing · PIT
22/31, 276 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
8.5 expected points added · +12.6% completion over expected
Passing · CIN
20/37, 183 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT
-0.5 expected points added · -4.0% completion over expected
Full stat lines
Box score
Pittsburgh Steelers
Passing
| Player | C/Att | Yds | TD | INT | Sacked | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Roethlisberger | 22/31 | 276 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8.5 |
Rushing
| Player | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willie Parker | 25 | 93 | 3.7 | 0 | -3.3 |
| Mewelde Moore | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 0 | 0.2 |
| Ben Roethlisberger | 2 | 3 | 1.5 | 1 | 1.5 |
Receiving
| Player | Rec | Tgt | Yds | TD | Tgt share | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Wallace | 7 | 8 | 102 | 0 | 26% | 8.9 |
| Hines Ward | 4 | 5 | 82 | 0 | 16% | 7.1 |
| Willie Parker | 2 | 2 | 36 | 1 | 6% | 4.0 |
| Heath Miller | 5 | 6 | 20 | 0 | 19% | -0.3 |
| Santonio Holmes | 1 | 5 | 18 | 0 | 16% | -7.7 |
| Matt Spaeth | 1 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 6% | -0.3 |
| Mewelde Moore | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 3% | -0.3 |
| Limas Sweed | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 6% | -1.2 |
Defense (top contributors)
| Player | Solo | Ast | Sacks | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Clark | 7 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
| Ike Taylor | 5 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 4 |
| Lawrence Timmons | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
| James Farrior | 2 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
| James Harrison | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | 0 | 1 |
| William Gay | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Burnett | 1 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Deshea Townsend | 1 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tyrone Carter | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brett Keisel | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
Cincinnati Bengals
Passing
| Player | C/Att | Yds | TD | INT | Sacked | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carson Palmer | 20/37 | 183 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -0.5 |
Rushing
| Player | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cedric Benson | 16 | 76 | 4.8 | 1 | 0.7 |
| Chris Crocker | 1 | 21 | 21.0 | 0 | 3.7 |
| Jeremi Johnson | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 0 | 0.4 |
| Carson Palmer | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | -0.1 |
Receiving
| Player | Rec | Tgt | Yds | TD | Tgt share | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chad Johnson | 5 | 11 | 54 | 0 | 31% | 0.1 |
| Andre Caldwell | 6 | 9 | 52 | 1 | 26% | 1.8 |
| Laveranues Coles | 5 | 7 | 34 | 0 | 20% | -0.3 |
| Chris Henry | 1 | 3 | 19 | 0 | 9% | -1.2 |
| Brian Leonard | 1 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 6% | 3.9 |
| Daniel Coats | 1 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 3% | 0.2 |
| Cedric Benson | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 6% | -1.9 |
Defense (top contributors)
| Player | Solo | Ast | Sacks | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keith Rivers | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chris Crocker | 5 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
| Robert Geathers | 3 | 4 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Johnathan Joseph | 5 | 1 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 |
| Roy Williams | 2 | 4 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Leon Hall | 5 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rey Maualuga | 2 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
| Dhani Jones | 5 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jonathan Fanene | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brandon Johnson | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
Closing number vs result
Betting context
- Closing spread
- PIT -3.5
- Closing total
- 36.5
- PIT moneyline
- -172
- CIN moneyline
- +157
Steelers closed -3.5 and lost outright — an upset against the closing number.
Total closed 36.5; the game landed 43 — over by 6.5.
Conditions and crew
Game environment
- Venue
- Paul Brown Stadium
- Roof / surface
- outdoors · fieldturf
- Kickoff weather
- 65°F, wind 9 mph
- Referee
- Gene Steratore
- Rest
- PIT 7 days · CIN 7 days
- Coaches
- Mike Tomlin vs Marvin Lewis
Division game — familiarity tightens these matchups; closing numbers tend to be sharper.