Kevin Gorman: Chris Boswell has history as Steelers' best weapon against Bengals

The Pittsburgh Steelers made many mistakes against the Cleveland Browns — from four interceptions to six penalties to a last-minute brawl — but Mike Tomlin made it a point to single out the kicking game as a turning point.

When Jordan Berry bobbled the snap on a 44-yard field-goal attempt, Chris Boswell’s kick sailed wide left with the Steelers trailing by seven points with 7 minutes, 50 seconds remaining in the first quarter of a 21-7 loss at FirstEnergy Stadium.

“In a hostile environment you can’t have hiccups in the kicking game,” Tomlin said. “We mishandled a field-goal snap and caused us to miss an opportunity for three points, particularly in the early stages of the game. I thought it didn’t help us environmentally, in terms of leveling the playing field, quelling the crowd, gaining some rhythm. It hurt us in a big way.”

With their offense devastated by injuries, the kicking game might be the Steelers’ best weapon against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. They will be counting on Berry’s punts for field position and Boswell’s kicks for points. The good news is Boswell has been perfect against the Bengals — and especially dangerous at Paul Brown Stadium.

In eight career games against the Bengals, Boswell is perfect on all 16 of his point-after tries and all 24 of his field-goal attempts in the regular season. Half of those field goals are from 40 yards or longer, including five 49-yarders. His 88 points against the Bengals is 29 more than he’s scored against any other team.

Better yet, Boswell has made the majority of those field goals in Cincinnati. That includes a pair of game-winners: A 35-yarder with 14 seconds left to clinch an 18-16 victory in the AFC divisional playoffs in January 2016, and a 38-yarder as time expired for a 23-20 win in December 2017.

“He’s obviously great in that stadium,” Berry said of Boswell. “Hopefully, we get great opportunities for him to kick and showcase that. We obviously go into every game thinking that but we’ve caught a lot of injuries on offense. If the offense is struggling, we’re going to get more opportunities, and we’ve got to capitalize on that.

“For both of us to come out and have our best stretch of games, it’s going to be really important that late in the season.”

Boswell has converted all 20 extra points and 18 of 20 field goals this season, with his only misses a 54-yard attempt against the Miami Dolphins at Heinz Field and on the botched hold at the Browns.

His turnaround has quietly been one of the best stories this season for the Steelers. After a Pro Bowl season in 2017, Boswell struggled mightily last year when he made 43 of 48 PATs and 13 of 20 field goals last season.

Berry can’t pinpoint the difference in Boswell, who missed the season finale against the Bengals, but believes he’s back to form thanks to an even approach and consistency.

“Last year, he had those misses and whether it was his technique or something going on in his head, we really couldn’t quite tell,” Berry said. “Obviously, he missed a couple kicks and that buggered up the whole season for him. He’s got it corrected and he’s calm.

“I can’t tell you when it clicked. He’s been on all year. He’s in his rhythm. There’s not much more to tell you than that. He’s still got the same work ethic. He’s just putting them through the sticks.”

The Steelers might need that from Boswell more than ever.

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