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Season-shaping plays: Arthur Moats' impeccable timing

This is the 13th in a series that looks at 17 plays that shaped the Pittsburgh Steelers' season – one from every game.

For this series we will go in chronological order.

No. 1: Running back Le'Veon Bell’s 38-yard touchdown scamper in a 30-27 win over the Cleveland Browns.

No, 2: Wide receiver Justin Brown's lost fumble after a 6-yard reception in a 26-6 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

No. 3: Outside linebacker Jarvis Jones' sack of quarterback Cam Newton for an 8-yard loss in a 37-19 win over the Carolina Panthers.

No. 4: Wide receiver Antonio Brown's drop of a sure touchdown pass in a 27-24 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

No. 5: Cornerback Brice McCain's 21-yard interception return for a touchdown in a 17-9 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

No. 6: Cornerback Cortez Allen getting beat for a 51-yard touchdown catch by Cleveland Browns tight end Jordan Cameron.

No. 7: Bell’s 43-yard reception in a 30-23 win over the Houston Texans.

No. 8: Cornerback William Gay's 33-yard interception return for a touchdown in a 51-34 win over the Indianapolis Colts.

No. 9: Wide receiver Markus Wheaton's 47-yard touchdown catch in a 43-23 win over the Baltimore Ravens.

No. 10: Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's rare and untimely interception in a 20-13 loss to the New York Jets.

No. 11: Bell's 5-yard touchdown run in a 27-24 win over the Tennessee Titans.

No. 12: New Orleans Saints wide receiver Kenny Stills' 69-yard touchdown catch in a 35-32 win over the Steelers.

No. 13: Outside linebacker Arthur Moats capitalizes on botched exchange in Cincinnati.

The setting: The Steelers were trailing the Bengals, 21-10, early in the fourth quarter when Moats came up with one of the most critical takeaways of the season.

The play: Quarterback Andy Dalton had burned Pittsburgh for a 20-yard touchdown run off a read option but gave the Steelers the opening they needed when the Bengals ran the same play later in the game. Dalton faked to running back Jeremy Hill, but when he pulled it back Hill’s hip jarred it loose. Moats, starting at right outside linebacker for the injured James Harrison, alertly jumped on the ball right after Dalton and wrestled it away from him. The turnover gave the Steelers the ball at the Bengals' 24-yard line.

What it meant for the bigger picture: The Steelers needed just four plays to score the go-ahead touchdown and erupted for 22 points after Dalton’s lost fumble to beat the Bengals, 42-21. The victory -- Le'Veon Bell highlighted it by tying Walter Payton’s NFL record for most consecutive games with at least 200 yards from scrimmage with three -- put the Steelers just percentage behind the first-place Bengals in the bunched-up AFC North. The resounding way in which they beat the Bengals also provided a springboard for the Steelers, who won their final four regular-season games for the first time since 2005.