Grading the Steelers:

Jack McCurry, who completed his 24th season as the head coach of the North Hills High School Indians. He has won four WPIAL titles.

Grading the Bengals:

Neil Gordon, who completed his 15th season as the head coach of the Penn Hills High School Indians. He has won one WPIAL title.

Offense: C

The Steelers started strong but collapsed midway through the third quarter as the Bengals' front seven dominated the line of scrimmage and pressured Kordell Stewart into throwing four interceptions. With Jerome Bettis and Amos Zereoue on the sideline, the offense was limited on its options, mainly on third down. Plaxico Burress continues to impress but disappeared along with the rest of offense in second half.

Offense: B

The previously inconsistent Bengals put things together in the final 2<f>1/2<f> quarters, wore down the Steelers and posted the big upset. Corey Dillon, Jon Kitna, Peter Warrick, Darnay Scott, Ron Dugans and Danny Farmer came through with big plays in critical situations -- they never lost their focus. Hats off to the offensive line for an impressive and valiant effort the entire game.

Defense: C -

Although Corey Dillon was held in check, the Steelers' secondary made the seemingly inept Jon Kitna look like a pro -- 411 passing yards, are you kidding me? Cornerbacks Dewayne Washington and Chad Scott were simply abused by the Bengals' receiving corps. Let's hope they got it out of their system. Jason Gildon continues to play like a Pro Bowl linebacker as he made plays all over the field.

Defense: B

After a shaky start, the defense stepped up its intensity and results were gratifying. Kordell Stewart couldn't run, Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala found brick walls, not gaping holes, and the secondary reappeared after an obvious first-half absence. The typical well-devised Dick LeBeau blitzes were well executed and forced the needed turnovers. Oliver Gibson, Brian Simmons and Takeo Spikes led this impressive charge down the stretch.

Special Teams: C -

Week in and week out, the kicking game has continually broken down. It was no different against Cincinnati as Josh Miller's bobbled field-goal snap led to a Bengals touchdown. Another missed extra point by Kris Brown finally came back to haunt the Steelers. This unit is causing a big leak in the Steelers' Super Bowl ship. If there was one bright spot, it was the play of the kickoff team as it forced two fumbles.

Special Teams: C

Fumbled kickoffs, returned field-goal attempts, missed field goals and extra points, onside kicks and Neil Rackers -- what a roller-coaster ride for the special teams. Over the course of 16 weeks, this type of inconsistency inevitably will spell doom; yesterday the goats turned into heroes and all was temporarily forgotten.

Coaching: C +

For those wondering when the Steelers would have a letdown game, yesterday was the game. The offensive game plan, was solid but the second-half execution was less than desirable. The league's No. 1 defense played uninspired as the Bengals moved the ball at will. It's tough to keep a team up for three weeks against subpar teams.

Coaching: B

LeBeau said his team would come to play -- he was quite the prophet. Despite the disappointing season and a two-score deficit, the Bengals played with enthusiasm and intensity. This game wasn't won with X's and O's alone; the heart, courage, and execution down the stretch was admirable and should make the staff quite proud.

Team Score: 77

Team Score: 82

Key

100-95

Super Bowl performance

94-90

Division title contenders

89-80

Wild Card possibility

79-70

Shooting for high draft picks in 2002

69-less

Check waiver wire