Bengals Fall to the Cowboys, Steelers Lose to the Chiefs in OT

On Saturday, Dallas Cowboys (2-2) quarterback Tony Romo showed up and helped lead his team to a 24-18 win over the Cincinnati Bengals (2-1).

The Bengals got on the board first with a 75-yard punt return by wide receiver Brandon Tate but Romo had two touchdowns in the second quarter that enabled his team to take a 14-7 halftime lead. A third touchdown by back up quarterback Kyle Orton to running back Dez Bryant in the third quarter was the nail in the coffin for the Cowboys.

Romo was 13 for 18, 137 yards and two touchdowns while Bryant had six catches for 54 yards and one touchdown; fellow wide receiver Miles Austin had four receptions for 59 yards and one score.

Andy Dalton

For the Bengals, they had four turnovers and quarterback Andy Dalton went 12 for 16, 113 yards and one interception. Rookie running back Gio Bernard led the team in rushing with his six carries for 39 yards and Pro Bowl wide receiver A.J.Green was the receiving leader with his three receptions for 42 yards.

Any concerns about his knee appear to be gone.

In the battle for the Bengals backup quarterback spot, Josh Johnson may be winning. He went 6 for 13, 35 yards and one interception. The team’s third quarterback, offseason acquisition John Skelton, did not play at all on Saturday.

Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said of the game via the Associated Press, “We started the game and did some good things. We had a good stop defensively, three and out. We had a good drive offensively, but laid the ball on the ground. You can’t have that.”

The team will wrap up preseason play on Thursday against the Indianapolis Colts (2-1). They enter the season with expectations but have an 8 1/2 regular season win total (-155 o, +125 u). For the playoffs, they’re -115 yes/no.

Steelers Lose Again 

The Pittsburgh Steelers (0-3) suffered another preseason loss as they went down in OT 20-26 against the Kansas City Chiefs (1-2).

The Steelers incurred nine penalties for 98 yards, saw a kickoff return for a touchdown and dealt with a blocked field goal.

Head coach Mike Tomlin said of the game via ESPN, “We were penalized on drives that they scored on, and if we remain penalty-free defensively we’re a tough team to drive the ball on. We’ve got to be cleaner.”

Jarvis Jones

Another story from Saturday’s game was the injury suffered by the Steelers’ rookie linebacker, Jarvis Jones. The player got tackled after a fourth quarter interception. While he left the field on his own free will, he did go to the hospital with a chest injury.

He is expected to be o.k.

Jones sits behind Jason Worilds on the depth chart and is trying to challenge the player for the top right outside linebacker role.

One bright spot for the Steelers was running back Felix Jones. The team acquired him in a trade on Friday from the Philadelphia Eagles (2-1). This comes as the Steelers’ running back corp. has been hit by the injury bug:  Le’Veon Bell (foot), Isaac Redman (stinger) and LaRod Stephens-Howling (knee).

Jones had just signed with the Eagles in May and previously spent the last five seasons with the Cowboys. In 2012, he had 111 carries for 402 yards and three touchdowns.

He will most likely have to compete for a roster spot but in Saturday’s game, Jones got off to a good start. He led the team in rushing with eight carries for 29 yards. Fellow back Jonathan Dwyer had eight carries for 25 yards in first half-only action.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger went 13 for 19, 166 yards and one interception.

The Steelers will end the preseason against the Carolina Panthers (2-1). Will they snap their three-game losing streak?

For the regular season win total, the Steelers sit at nine wins (-115 o/u) and -130 no to make the playoffs.