It was the Steelers defense of old, in a way.
Offensively, they sandwiched two turnovers between two field goals, and trailed 14-6 in the second quarter. Still smarting a little bit from a 15-play, 80 yard drive that was capped off by a Cedric Peerman touchdown from five yards out, the Steelers defense appeared to be heading down the same path it had in previous road losses.
And then it happened.
Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton pumped a pass, and on his downswing, he lost grip of the ball - an issue that plagued receivers on both sides of the ball all game. It flew forward, clanged off the helmet of one of his linemen, and right into the waiting hands of outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley.
Woodley showed a nice reverse pivot, and got upfield for a few yards.
It was the turnover the Steelers defense has desperately needed all season to slow an opposing offense down. Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger shook off the cobwebs of two uncharacteristic first-half turnovers, and hit tight end Heath Miller on a nine-yard touchdown strike. The two-point conversion went to Miller as well, and just like that, the Steelers went into the locker room tied at 14 in a game fans wrote off in the first quarter.