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Steelers tame the Bengals

The Pittsburgh Steelers remain the bullies of the AFC North.

Putting a serious whipping on their division rivals, the Steelers dominated the Cincinnati Bengals, 27-13, Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium. How one-sided was it? Pittsburgh scored the first 20 points of the second half to take a commanding 27-6 lead with seven minutes to play. At that point, many Bengals fans in their record-setting crowd (66,104) began heading to their cars.

"I flat out didn't play well enough to win," said Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer, who threw two interceptions and was sacked twice, suffering through his worst game of the season. "It hurts. This game meant a lot to us. It meant a lot to the city and to the fans. We let ourselves and everybody around us down."

Cincinnati (5-2) was still in first place, but after this game, it didn't feel like it. The Steelers (4-2), who won the division last season, set a franchise record with their 10th consecutive road victory, and re-established themselves as the team to beat in the AFC North.

"We knew what this was all about, and we couldn't afford to lose." said Jerome Bettis, who rushed for 56 yards on 13 carries for the Steelers. "You still got to go through us."

After hearing all season about the threat posed by the Bengals, the Steelers took this game personally. That feeling was personified late in the third quarter, when Hines Ward caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger to put the Steelers ahead, 24-6. To celebrate the score, Ward put his hands on his hips and began to dance, imitating the Riverdance shuffle that Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson had performed earlier this year.

Ward admitted afterward that Johnson was a better dancer.

"It was spur of the moment," Ward said of his celebration. "I said, `Why not try it?' I didn't know how to do it. I'm a bad riverdancer."

Ward's dance was one of the few things that Pittsburgh did poorly during the second half. It was Steelers football personified, physical dominance on both sides of the ball. The Bengals were held to 91 yards rushing, while Pittsburgh rushed for a season-high 221 yards, led by Willie Parker (131 yards, 18 carries), who has emerged as the team's No. 1 back.

With Bettis pounding inside and Parker scurrying outside, Cincinnati's defense was gradually worn down, like a boxer who had absorbed too many body punches. Roethlisberger had an easy day, completing 9 of 14 passes for 93 yards, returning to action after missing last week's loss to Jacksonville with a knee injury.

Parker broke a big run midway through the third quarter, cutting to his right and streaking down the sideline for a 39-yard touchdown that gave Pittsburgh a 17-6 lead. Bengals defensive back Ifeanyi Ohalete had a chance to make the touchdown-saving tackle, but he went for Parker's legs, and Parker whizzed past as if nobody was in the vicinity.

At that point, the Bengals were in trouble. The Steelers are 95-1-1 under Bill Cowher during the regular season when they have lead by more than 10 points, and they had little trouble salting this game away. Palmer completed 21 of 36 passes for 227 yards, but Cincinnati's normally potent offense was contained. Johnson, who entered the game leading the AFC in receptions and receiving yards, was held to 4 catches for 94 yards.

"We expected a playoff atmosphere in here, we got one, and we responded," said Steelers defensive back Ike Taylor, who shadowed Johnson most of the game. "It was a challenge, but I was ready for this. I go against some good receivers every day in practice."

The Bengals hurt themselves by squandering opportunities on their first two possessions. On their opening drive, Chris Henry dropped what would have been a touchdown pass, and Shayne Graham missed a 30-yard field goal. On their next drive, the Bengals were forced to settle for a field goal after their drive stalled on Pittsburgh's 8-yard line. Instead of being ahead 14-0, or at least 10-0, the Bengals led by just 3-0. And the Steelers took the lead for good in the second quarter, after Roethlisberger connected with Heath Miller on a 2-yard touchdown pass.

"You can't leave points off the board like that, especially against a team that's going to kill you on the run," Palmer said.

"They did a good job making adjustments at halftime and slowing us down."

The Bengals have not made the playoffs since 1990, but Bengals coach Marvin Lewis refused to believe his team's early-season momentum would be derailed. Cincinnati will get another chance against the Steelers on Dec. 4 in Pittsburgh.

"We have to learn from this, and we will," said Lewis, whose team will play host to Green Bay on Sunday. "I'm not worried at all. There's no psychological stigma. We'll put this behind us."
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