In the long and inglorious history of bungling by the Cincinnati Bengals, they've never done it like this.
Not ever, and that's saying something, considering the Bengals have authored Volumes 1 through 12 of Improbable Ways To Lose Games.
The Bengals gave the Steelers the ball on a fumble, then handed them bonus yardage to set up Chris Boswell's 35-yard field goal to also give the Steelers an 18-16 victory in Cincinnati on Saturday night.
Injured Ben Roethlisberger came back into the game to lead the Bengals-assisted drive, and linebacker Ryan Shazier played like a madman the entire game.
But the focus will be on the uncontrollable idiocy the Bengals displayed on the last possession.
After the Steelers got the ball on Jeremy Hill's fumble, serial offenders Vontaze Burfict and Adam (No Longer Known as PacMan) Jones were there to take mindless penalties that made Boswell's winning kick a chip shot.
Who knows how many healthy players the Steelers will have for this Sunday's trip to Denver, but at least they get a chance to play another game.
Cincinnati? Sports talk radio should be lively there for the next couple of months, or years.
If the football wasn't the greatest, the drama was. CBS got a reality show that made "Survivor" look like "Family Feud."
There was Roethlisberger riding off the field on a cart after Burfict slammed his right shoulder into the turf on a sack. This one, at least, was a legal play.
The Steelers had to run the ball and discovered that unknowns Fitzgerald Toussaint and Jordan Rodman were equal to the challenge.
The defense raised memories of the "Blitzburgh" approach of a previous generation. If Dick LeBeau was watching, he was probably smiling.
But the Steelers couldn't finish drives and kept settling for field goals. That proved to be just enough against the current bunch of Bengals who needlessly protect their cement heads with plastic helmets.
Burfict, who locked up his reputation as Public Enemy No. 1, decided to slam his shoulder into Antonio Brown's head. Reading the body language, it seemed as though he was arguing that it was a legal hit because gave Brown a concussion with his shoulder instead of his helmet.
Then in ensuing scrum, Jones made the mistake of pushing one of the officials.
Two incredibly stupid penalties, one amazingly easy winning field goal for the Steelers, whose offense had been struggling.
All those jokes you've collected about the Bungles over the years? Get them laminated and set up a room in your house to display them. They're gold.
Just when it seemed the team was going to exorcise its postseason demons, the Bengals managed to blow a game in the most unimaginable way.
If the other Cincinnati players aren't preparing a petition to send Burfict packing, they should be. And Jones can carry the suitcases.
It was that kind of night. Despite warnings from the NFL and a pre-game line of officials at the 50-yard line to keep the peace, the message to knock off the stupidity didn't penentrate.
The Steelers weren't blameless, either. Assistant coach Joey Porter needs to be told that he's no longer a player and doesn't belong on the field.
It's not like the players didn't know things would be under close scrutiny.
Mike Munchak, the Steelers' offensive line coach who last played in the NFL in 1993, got a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. Munchak grabbed a Bengals player on the sideline, which may have gone unflagged under other circumstances.
It wasn't a big deal, but it was under the parameters that were set for this game.
If the message reached the Bengals sideline, it didn't stick.
They'll be talking about this one in Cincinnati for a long time. And for all the wrong reasons.
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