Fourth Quarter Belongs to Bengals : In Switch From Last Year, They Win on Esiason’s Bomb

Instead of giving up the big plays, the Cincinnati Bengals are making them.

The Bengals, who gave away games in the final quarter a year ago, got a 65-yard touchdown pass play from Boomer Esiason to Eddie Brown with 10:01 left Sunday to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 17-12.

The Bengals have won their first three games for the first time since 1975, when they went 11-3 in Paul Brown’s final season as coach.

“Three in a row and three close ones in a row,” said Coach Sam Wyche, who nearly lost his job last season after his questionable decisions cost the Bengals several games. “I’m getting used to this.”

Esiason completed 15 of 27 passes for 223 yards in his worst performance of the season, but rallied the Bengals to a fourth-quarter victory for the second week in a row.

Esiason, who has thrown for 857 yards and is the NFL’s top-rated passer, found Brown behind cornerback Delton Hall on a second-and-10 play and Brown scored untouched. Hall, who is playing with a fractured wrist and a pulled groin, has allowed four touchdowns in three games.

“We were waiting for the one time they were going to bring the kitchen sink so we could get Eddie in 1-on-1 coverage,” Esiason said. “He’s awfully tough in man-to-man coverage.

“I’m very happy right now, but I’ve seen teams start 3-0 and totally fizzle. We’ve still got a lot of work to do because it’s a very long season.”

The Steelers (1-2) took a 12-10 lead with 11:48 remaining by settling for a 19-yard Gary Anderson field goal after Bubby Brister threw incomplete on third-and-goal from the Bengals’ 1.

Pittsburgh drove to the Bengals’ 38 on its next possession, but lost the ball on Dwight Stone’s fumble. The Steelers drove to the 20 in the last minute, but Brister’s pass was intercepted.

“The best thing about this game was I got out alive,” Brister said. “I got banged around a lot. It was just a miracle we were still in there at the finish after all those turnovers.”