Winners and losers from ‘Monday Night Football’ in Week 13

The Monday Night Football game in Week 13 between the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers was tough to watch as injuries and dirty play took precedence.

In the end, Pittsburgh managed to overcome a two-touchdown halftime deficit to come back and win with a field goal as time expired, moving to 10-2 on the season.

These were the biggest winners and losers from the action.

Loser: Injuries were brutal

Football is an inherently violent game, but Monday’s game was particularly brutal. On the game’s first drive, Bengals cornerback Adam Jones suffered a groin injury during his interception of Ben Roethlisberger. He wouldn’t return.

Joe Mixon almost appeared to get knocked unconscious on a hard hit as he ran the ball in the second quarter and ended up heading into the locker room shortly afterward to be evaluated for head and shoulder injuries. He also would not return in this game after being diagnosed with a concussion.

Vontaze Burfict was also banged up pretty good…three times. He came out of the game in the first half but came back in shortly afterward. Then early in the fourth quarter he suffered an injury to his arm that looked quite painful, though he once again came back. Finally, midway through the fourth quarter, he was absolutely leveled on a dirty play by JuJu Smith-Schuster, who should have been ejected (more on that later).

Those were all tough. But they didn’t come close to the big one, which was Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier injuring his back on Pittsburgh’s first defensive possession of the game. He went to make a tackle on receiver Josh Malone, leading with his head, and went down clutching at his back. His legs weren’t moving, and he ended up needing to be taken by stretcher to the cart, and then into an ambulance to a local hospital. It was a very scary scene.

It didn’t take long for the Steelers to announce this awful news, which made the rest of the game awfully difficult to watch.

Winner: Le’Veon Bell continues to amaze

For much of the night, it was tough sledding for Pittsburgh’s offense. Yet one man continued to make plays, even when the game was nowhere near close.

Le’Veon Bell ended up rushing for 76 yards on 18 carries, despite Cincinnati’s defensive line generally having its way with Pittsburgh’s offensive line. He also hauled in five passes for 106 yards and a touchdown, which was the spark that got the Steelers into the game in the third quarter.

That’s a grand total of 182 yards, people, on a night that was marked by brutal hits, rainy conditions and sub-par quarterback play from Ben Roethlisberger.

Loser: Big Ben’s not-so-great night

It’s been very difficult for Roethlisberger to have a big impact in recent years when Antonio Brown isn’t on his game. Through no fault of his own (toe injury), Brown was hindered on Monday night and wasn’t his normal, explosive self.

Because his top guy wasn’t on point for much of the game, Roethlisberger was way off kilter, too. He ended up completing 8-of-16 passes for 109 yards with no touchdowns and an interception in the first half.

Big Ben did come through with some bigger numbers in the second half and finished with 290 total yards and two touchdowns. He also helped lead the win.

But the touchdown thrown by Roethlisberger in the third quarter had nothing to do with him, as Bell simply scooted past some defenders who were taking the play off. He ended up completing just 24-of-40 passes. In addition to his poor throwing night, Big Ben was knocked around pretty good and was visibly uncomfortable more than once after being taken down hard.

Winner: A.J. Green abused Coty Sensabaugh in the first half

A.J. Green had a huge first half catching the ball, and he did almost all his damage against Steelers cornerback Coty Sensabaugh.

Both of Green’s first-half touchdowns came at the expense of No. 24, who was not remotely qualified to handle him.

After halftime, the Steelers made the switch to bench Sensabaugh and put in rookie Cam Sutton. But the damage had already been done, with Green having already caught seven passes for 77 yards and the two scores.

Loser: A.J. Green disappeared in the second half

After halftime, Green still got open. Only when it mattered most, he couldn’t hang onto the ball, dropping a few passes he’d normally haul in without a thought. He ended up finishing the game with the same stats he went into halftime with.

His seven receptions came on 16 targets, which is a very poor ratio. Partly due to his inability to make plays in the second half, the Bengals wilted down the stretch offensively.

Winner: Antonio Brown better on one foot than most of the league

Remember when we mentioned Brown wasn’t his normal, explosive self? He really wasn’t.

Still, somehow the tough-as-nails receiver hauled in eight passes for 101 yards and the game-tying touchdown in the fourth quarter, sparking the win for the Steelers.

Brown clearly wasn’t able to change directions the same way he normally does. He clearly didn’t have the burst he normally uses to gain separation and torch the league’s best secondaries. Yet he still managed to contribute to a huge win that keeps the Steelers in position for a first-round bye heading into the final quarter of the season.

Loser: What were the Bengals doing on that Le’Veon Bell touchdown?

In the third quarter, up by two scores, the Bengals really had the Steelers on the ropes. Then, in the blink of an eye, the defense had a major brain fart that allowed Pittsburgh to claim some momentum.

Bell caught a simple swing pass from Roethlisberger, beat linebacker Jordan Evans to the edge while cornerback William Jackson III watched him run right past him en route to the end zone.

The effort on this play can be described quite simply by the following GIF.

Here’s the actual play, which shows the Bengals totally giving up on the play.

That’s an unconscionable effort by two professionals who know they screwed up.

Winner: Dalton keeps keeps interception-free streak going 

Heading into Monday’s game, Andy Dalton hadn’t thrown an interception in five straight games. Not coincidentally, the Bengals went 3-2 in those games.

Dalton had another rock-solid, though not necessarily spectacular showing against the Steelers. He and Green were clicking big time in the first half, but Dalton maintained a level head throughout and was a big reason why the Bengals almost ended up winning the game.

Dalton finished with 234 yards on 21-of-36 passing with two touchdowns and no interceptions. And if his receivers had been able to hold onto passes in the second half, he’d have engineered a huge win to get the Bengals to .500.

Now at 5-7, Cincinnati is almost all the way done heading into the final weeks of the season.

Loser: JuJu Smith-Schuster ought to be ashamed of himself

JuJu Smith-Schuster should be suspended — no, he has to be be suspended — for what he did to Vontaze Burfict in the fourth quarter.

Leveling him on a vicious hit, then standing over him, taunting him while he was down, was one of the most despicable things I’ve seen in a while (watch here). And I don’t care that Burfict has been a dirty player most of his career. It’s irrelevant.

Honestly. In a game like this one. You’ve already seen one of your own taken to the hospital in an ambulance with what appeared to be a very serious back injury. And you do that?

For shame. For shame.