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11/19/2009 3:32 AM

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The Cincinnati Bengals won two games against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field in the last four years. Both Cincinnati wins weren't decided until the final seconds.

In both games, during the most important drive of the afternoon, the Bengals were helped by a boneheaded penalty by the Steelers.

In 2006, when Cincinnati won 28-20, Ben Roethlisberger threw an interception in the end zone from the Bengals' 16-yard line with 10 seconds remaining. That drive began with the Steelers being penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct when Mike Logan flattened Cincinnati long-snapper Brad St. Louis with a legal block, only to stand over him and shamelessly play to the crowd.

Those yards the Steelers lost would have come in handy before Roethlisberger's interception.

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In the Bengals' 18-12 win Sunday, Cincinnati received a major assist and 15 free yards on its victory-securing field-goal drive in the fourth quarter when Pittsburgh linebacker James Harrison felt it necessary to introduce his arm/fist to the head of lineman Andrew Whitworth well after the whistle. Those extra 15 yards came in handy for the Bengals when Shayne Graham booted a 43-yard field goal with 1:56 remaining.

Without the penalty, the Bengals don't even attempt the field goal. Instead of needing a touchdown to win, the Steelers would have needed only a field goal to force overtime.

Harrison's late hit and Logan's long-forgotten taunt are signs of the problem with sports today. It's not all about winning. It's about entertaining, putting your signature on every play, humiliating your opponent.

Whatever happened to letting your skills do the talking?

As a wise old coach once said, before you win the game, you have to first not lose the game.

• When the pairings were released Sunday for the NCAA Division III football playoffs, d3football.com made the case that Washington & Jefferson (9-1) should not have been seeded last in its bracket and be playing top-seeded Mount Union (10-0) in the first round Saturday. The Presidents, the Web site argued, should have been seeded ahead of two-loss Susquehanna and be playing at Delaware Valley (9-1).

If they don't meet in this year's playoffs, the Presidents will have to wait only 10 months to play Delaware Valley. During the second week of the 2010 season, eight teams from the Presidents' Athletic Conference will be matched against teams from the Middle Atlantic Conference in the first "PAC-MAC Football Challenge."

The pairings, which were determined by order of finish in each conference this year, were released Wednesday and W&J will play at Delaware Valley. Waynesburg (5-5) will play at Wilkes (6-4). All eight games in the challenge series will be played at MAC schools next year. The pairings will remain the same in 2011 but with the PAC schools as hosts. Conference champion Thomas More is the lone PAC school not participating in the series.

• Pittsburgh kicker Jeff Reed received a citation last month from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for turning out for the 2000 Turkey campaign in Washington. Can Reed trade the citation for a couple of tackling lessons?

Sports Editor Chris Dugan can be reached at dugan@observer-reporter.com

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