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Roethlisberger, Parker lift Steelers past Bengals

Oct 29, 2007 - 5:08 PM By Gary Schatz PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

CINCINNATI (Ticker) - Ben Roethlisberger remained perfect in his home state, leading the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 24-13 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.

Roethlisberger threw a pair of touchdown passes to Hines Ward in improving to 9-0 as a professional in Ohio, including 5-0 against the Bengals.

"I wouldn't let people talk about my record in Ohio before the game but its OK now," said Roethlisberger, who grew up in Findlay and played collegiately football at Miami of Ohio, about 30 miles from Paul Brown Stadium.

Running back Willie Parker rushed for 126 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries as the Steelers rebounded from a 31-28 loss to the Denver Broncos.

Roethisberger calmly converted four third down passes in both of Pittsburgh second-quarter possessions that ended in touchdowns to build a 21-6 halftime lead.

"Those are the kind of plays we expect out of Ben," Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin said. "He is a great decision maker when plays break down."

Cincinnati put pressure on the Steeler quarterback but he repeatedly made the Bengals pay for the many blitzes they threw at his offensive line.

"They take pride in protecting me but I told them some of the sacks last week were my fault. I missed some hot reads," said Roethlisberger of his offensive line.

Roethlisberger avoided several sacks and made plays that kept drives alive.

"We had a chance to make a few minus-yardage plays," Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis said. "We had Ben Roethlisberger wrapped up a couple of times. He threw for at least a couple completions after we had him wrapped up on third down.

"We didn't do a good enough job of getting him to the ground. He is a big strong man. You have to tackle him up high or he is going to be able to release the football."

The Bengals (2-5) only managed two field goals by Shayne Graham - of 31 and 20 yards - in the opening 30 minutes.

"My hat is off to our defense," Tomlin said. "They bled a little bit but that's a high-powered offense. They are going to hit plays on you but you need to understand the most important play is in front of you. There was no blink in them."

The second field goal was set up by a 42-yard kickoff return by Glen Holt to the Cincinnati 48. The Bengals drove to Pittsburgh's 2-yard line on 10 plays but drive stalled when Carson Palmer's five-yard pass to Reggie Kelly was one yard short of a first down at the one-yard line.

Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis elected to kick the field goal with 2:16 left in the half.

"I asked for a measurement because I wasn't sure how far it was," Lewis said. "It was a good yard. I decided to take the field goal. Our fans and our players always want to go for it on offense. That doesn't really play into whether or not we should go for it. I had to take all things into account.

"In hindsight, we should have gone for it."

The Steelers (5-2) then drove 67 yards on nine plays to take. Parker, who has a 32-yard run on the drive, swept around left end from 1-yard out with just four seconds left in the half for a 21-6 cushion.

The Steelers used seven minutes on a 12-play drive that ended when a pressured Roethlisberger was intercepted by Deltha O'Neal at the Bengals' 12-yard line.

"If we hadn't turned the ball over the game was over. They were tired," said Ward, who is recovered from a knee injury five weeks ago and caught the 60th and 61st TD passes of his career.

On the first one, Ward took advantage of a Bengals' gaffe that had only 10 defenders on the field.

"They changed personnel three times," Lewis said. "We changed personnel. That didn't have any significance on that play."

It allowed Ward to become the second Steeler in history to reach 60 touchdown catches in his career. John Stallworth holds the franchise record with 63.

"It is a great day when you can get closer to a record and contribute to a win," Ward said.

The second came on a 6-yard pass on third down. Roethlisberger converted three third down plays while escaping blitzes on the drive, including a seven-yard pass to Santonio Holmes while throwing across his body while in the grasp of a defender.

"Ben makes plays outside the pocket that can bail you out," Ward said. "It is something you can't teach and can't coach. You have to have a knack for it."

Palmer led Cincinnati on a 17-play, 88-yard drive that took 8:07 but brought Cincinnati within eight points at 21-13 with 13:02 left in the game. He capped the march with a 9-yard scoring pass to T.J. Houshmandzadeh.

The Steelers answered with a 40-yard field goal by Jeff Reed to make it a two-possession game at 24-13 with 6:09 to play.

The Bengals marched to the Pittsburgh 20 but running back Kenny Watson fumbled at the 12-yard line and also suffered a blow to the head that took him out of the game.

Pittsburgh ran out the last 3:16 of the game to preserve its sixth straight win over Cincinnati.

Roethlisberger finished 19-of-26 for 230 yards, the two TDs and an interception.