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NFL: Strong Pittsburgh defense keeps Cincinnati at bay

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Carey Davis, left, runs past Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Brandon Johnson (No. 59) for a first down in the second quarter of their game in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Thursday. PHOTO: AP

The Pittsburgh Steelers moved a step closer to the NFL playoffs as its defense stymied the Cincinnati Bengals for a 27-10 win on Thursday.

The Steelers limited the depleted Bengals to six first downs following an early touchdown drive and found just enough offense themselves amid the snow flurries to notch an important victory.

Pittsburgh wasn’t dominant — except defensively — in winning its fifth in a row over Cincinnati, its longest streak since an eight-game run in the early 1990s.

The Steelers trailed 7-0 until quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw a 3-yard pass to tight end Heath Miller, their first touchdown in more than seven quarters.

The lead was still a vulnerable 13-7 late in the third quarter when backup running backs Mewelde Moore and Gary Russell combined for a drive that made it 20-7.

Russell scored his first NFL touchdown after Moore — benched four days earlier after being stopped at the goal line by San Diego on fourth-and-inches — ran four times for 21 yards and made a 22-yard reception during a 64-yard drive.

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver T. J. Houshmandzadeh, right, blocks Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu after making a catch in Pittsburgh on Thursday. PHOTO: AP

Roethlisberger, turnover free for a second successive game while going 17 of 30 for 243 yards, scored himself from the eight late in the game to cap the result.

Jeff Reed kicked field goals of 37 and 38 yards that weren’t sure things given the slippery field conditions, taking the score from 7-7 to 13-7.

The Bengals offense was loaded with backups because of injuries — reserves played most of the game at nine positions — and the deactivation of wide receiver Chad Ocho Cinco for violating team rules.

Cincinnati quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, under constant pressure from a Pittsburgh defense, was below 100 yards in passing until a brief drive in the fourth quarter that ended with a field goal. He finished 20-of-37 for 168 yards.

Ocho Cinco’s absence allowed the Steelers to double cover T.J. Houshmandzadeh, who was coming off eight consecutive games with six or more catches but found little open space downfield and ended with four catches for just 20 yards.

The Steelers, held without a touchdown against San Diego, got off to another slow start as the Bengals went ahead with Fitzpatrick’s 10-yard pass to Glenn Holt late in the first quarter. Holt had not caught a pass all season prior to the game.

Pittsburgh, getting good field position because of Kyle Larson’s 30-yard punt in a game in which both punters were miserable, tied it two plays after electing to risk going for it on fourth-and-1 from the 4-yard line, with Russell barely getting the yard to keep the drive going. Roethlisberger then found Miller in a crowded end zone.

Reed’s 37-yard field goal late in the second put Pittsburgh ahead 10-7.

The Bengals recovered at the Steelers’ 39 with a minute left in the half, but gained only five yards and were out of field goal range when Fitzpatrick threw incomplete on fourth down.

Reed’s 38-yarder into a snowy crosswind had just enough distance to extend Pittsburgh’s advantage to 13-7 halfway through the third quarter.
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