What was Marvin Lewis thinking?

Yes, the Bengals defeated the Steelers 23-20 yesterday. It was a great win for the Bengals and it shows that their hard work this season is paying off. Even with the win, there's still something Marvin Lewis needs to be questioned on: what was he thinking on the final drive?

Trailing 16-20, the Bengals were driving down the field, and Lewis had two timeouts to work with. After getting a first down inside the Steelers 30-yard line, the Bengals had about 50 seconds on the clock to work with. And on first down, Lewis decided to have Carson Palmer spike the football. Instead of taking one of his timeouts, Lewis chose to essentially waste a down and hope the team could convert on three. Though the Bengals did convert the first down and eventually score on a touchdown throw from Palmer to Andre Caldwell, Lewis' clock management is something that needs to be questioned.

It would have made sense to spend a timeout, regroup and have four plays to gain ten yards. Lewis has never been praised for his game management, and he showed why in that situation. Had the Bengals failed to convert in that situation, Lewis would be receiving a great amount of criticism right now. Luckily for his sake, Palmer played great down the stretch, and the Bengals are sitting at 2-1 and in second place in the AFC North.