Steelers Escape Bengals Game Relatively Healthy
CINCINNATI — The Pittsburgh Steelers escaped Sunday’s 44-38 win over the Cincinnati Bengals relatively healthy, as wide receiver Calvin Austin III was the only player to leave the game with an injury. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin confirmed after the game that Austin is being evaluated for a concussion.
“Calvin Austin is being evaluated with a concussion,” Tomlin said during his post-game press conference. “Other than that, appears to be bump and bruises associated with play.”
Austin left his team’s game late in the first half and did not return. Austin took a big hit from Cincinnati cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt.
When the Steelers came back from the locker room to start the third quarter, Austin was not with them, and the team announced that he was being evaluated for a head injury. He was later ruled out.
Before his injury, Austin made two catches for 29 yards and a touchdown. His 23-yard touchdown catch from Russell Wilson early in the second quarter helped tie the game at 14-14.
Steelers running back Harris pulled up short on a screen pass midway through the first quarter and immediately took himself out of the game. Harris said him pulling up on a first-half run was because of “too much Thanksgiving.” He jokingly blamed Pat Freiermuth’s girlfriend for cooking too much good food on Thursday.
Tomlin praised Harris for fighting through adversity in less than ideal circumstances.
“Man, I thought his efforts were rock solid,” Tomlin said. “He’s a big-time competitor. Naj has been obviously with us for a number of years, so he knows the weight of these games and environments like this. Less than ideal in terms of how he was feeling, but he was going to be there for his teammates, for sure.”
Harris finished with 75 yards rushing on 16 carries (4.7 average) and a touchdown. He also caught six passes for 54 yards (9.0 average).
Alan Saunders and Aaron Becker provided reporting from Cincinnati.
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