The Bengals did what they had to do to give themselves a chance at making the playoffs.

Trey Hendrickson had 3.5 sacks of Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson, including one in the final minute that led to the Steelers turning the ball over on downs with 11 seconds left to play. That secured a 19-17 win for the Bengals and they will now shift to observer mode on Sunday. Losses by the Broncos and Dolphins will give the Bengals a playoff spot.

It’s a scenario that seemed far-fetched when the Bengals were 4-8, but five straight wins to close out the regular season leaves them alive heading into the final day of the season. Hendrickson, who is likely to be the league’s sack leader with 17.5 on the season, was one of the three usual suspects to play a big role in the latest win.

Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase hooked up for their 17th touchdown of the season to open the game and Chase ended the night with 10 catches for 96 yards. He is the first player in league history with 1,700 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns in the same season and he won the receiving triple crown by leading the league in catches as well.

Burrow was checked for a concussion at one point, but didn’t miss a snap and went 37-of-46 for 277 yards to drive an offense that was missing running back Chase Brown and saw wide receiver Tee Higgins leave with an ankle injury. It wrapped up a stellar season for Burrow, but Sunday’s results will show whether it is enough for them to have a shot at getting back to the Super Bowl.

The Steelers know that they’ll have that chance, but will have to wait for the Chargers’ result to find out their seed. If the Chargers beat the Raiders, the Steelers will head to Baltimore as the No. 6 seed. If the Chargers lose, they’ll go to Houston as the No. 5 seed.

Playing the Texans seems like a better bet to advance, but the Steelers offense doesn’t feel like a safe bet under any circumstances. They had a pair of touchdown drives that accounted for 12 of their 16 first downs and they couldn’t take advantage of a golden opportunity to take the lead in the fourth quarter. A Corliss Waitman punt bounced into Bengals defensive back D.J. Ivey’s foot and the Steelers recovered on the Bengals’ 38-yard-line.

One of Hendrickson’s sacks helped force a Chris Boswell field goal that cut Cincinnati’s lead to two, however, and the Steelers would never get the touchdown they needed. They only managed 193 yards for the game and they will be trying to snap a four-game losing streak when they take the field next weekend. It will help if wide receiver George Pickens can hold onto the ball after dropping three passes on Saturday, but there were enough other issues to make it feel like the long wait for the Steelers offense to catch fire feels like it may not end before the 2025 season.