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Roethlisberger's TD pass in overtime eliminates Bengals

Dec 31, 2006 - 11:15 PM CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- If that was Bill Cowher's last game as coach, Ben Roethlisberger gave him quite a sendoff.

Roethlisberger threw a 67-yard touchdown pass to rookie Santonio Holmes 1:33 into overtime, giving the Pittsburgh Steelers a thrilling 23-17 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.

The loss against their bitter AFC North rivals eliminated the Bengals (8-8) from playoff contention.

It had to be a sweet victory for Cowher, who is completing his 15th season as Steelers coach - the league's longest active tenure with one team. He will announce a decision regarding his coaching future sometime in the near future.

"I'll take some time to reflect," Cowher said. "I don't want to make an emotional decision. I'm leaning but it's hard to see those players. The players are why I'm in this business. It's those guys in that locker room. I'll take a couple of weeks and talk to some people. It's an important decision. I've never been the type to second guess myself. Once I make a decision, I move on. I want to step back and take the emotion out of it."

Roethlisberger gave Cowher his 149th regular-season win with the franchise, hitting Holmes with a quick slant on the Steelers' first possession of overtime. He broke a tackle from free safety Madieu Williams at the Cincinnati 45 and raced down the sideline, setting off a wild celebration in the end zone.

Roethlisberger completed 19-of-28 passes for 280 yards and a touchdown with an interception.

Shayne Graham could have given the Bengals the win in regulation but hooked a 39-yard field goal as time expired. Last week, the Bengals botched a snap on an extra point in the final minute in a 24-23 loss at Denver which all but eliminated them from playoff contention.

Willie Parker rushed for 134 yards and two touchdowns and Holmes had 124 receiving yards for the Steelers (8-8), who finished at .500 after winning the Super Bowl last season.

"This game speaks volumes about the character of this team," Cowher said. "What a resilient bunch of guys. Our season didn't go our way but we had some guys step up."

Carson Palmer threw touchdown passes of 66 yards to Chris Henry and five yards to tight end Tony Stewart in the fourth quarter for the Bengals, who won the AFC North last season.

Palmer, who finished the season with 4,035 passing yards, obviously was disappointed.

"It's another game we shouldn't have lost," he said. "(Coach) Marvin (Lewis) said it was selfishnes but it is just one reason, not the only reason. We are a very average football team. We have the talent to be a good football team but we're not. A lot of changes need to be made."

"That was a very dissappointing day," Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said. "I don't know if we played good enough in any phase. We did not play to the standard and that's my fault. We'll get it fixed and move on."