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Roethlisberger, defense push Steelers past Bengals

Nov 21, 2008 - 6:34 AM By Brad Everett PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- While the Pittsburgh Steelers' offense has shown some cracks over the past month, the team's defense has served as a steady foundation.

Thursday, it was an absolute brick wall.

The top-ranked Pittsburgh defense put together one of its most dominant efforts, lifting the Steelers to a 27-10 win against the hapless Cincinnati Bengals.

Ben Roethlisberger completed 17-of-30 passes for 243 yards and a touchdown in helping the Steelers to their fifth straight win over the Bengals and 11th win in the last 14 meetings. He ran for another, and did not throw an interception for the second straight game.

Roethlisberger and the Steelers failed to score an offensive touchdown in an 11-10 win over San Diego on Sunday, and the drought reached five quarters until he hit Heath Miller for a 3-yard score early in the second quarter.

"It just felt good to score," Roethlisberger said.

"I saw Heath going into the flat, but I wasn't 100 percent sure on it. The last thing I wanted to do was throw a pick, so I said to myself I'm going to pull it down, and even if we get a field goal, that's still points on the board. Then the hole opened up and I found a way to get it to him."

The defense did not need much help. Pittsburgh (8-3) limited the Bengals to 208 total yards and 4-of-15 on third-down conversions. It tied for the lowest yardage total the Steelers have surrendered this season.

"We know that defensively we have to set the tone," linebacker Larry Foote said. "We do a good a job, and we did a great job tonight. They tried to run it right at us, and that's pretty hard to do."

The Steelers had little trouble stopping Cincinnati (1-9-1), which was without enigmatic wide receiver Chad Johnson. The five-time Pro Bowler was deactivated earlier in the day for violating team rules.

"We deactivated him today, like he was told," Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said. "Chad will be back and should be fine, and will hopefully get his treatment and be ready to go tomorrow."

Johnson' replacement, Glenn Holt caught a 10-yard touchdown pass on the Bengals' second possession. The Steelers held Cincinnati to six first downs the rest of the way.

"We just pretty much go out there and play," Pittsburgh rookie linebacker Lawrence Timmons said. "I think it's the coach's great planning that helps us as the game goes on. You have the opportunity to talk things over and correct your errors. That makes a heck of a difference."

Roethlisberger's TD pass to Miller tied it at 7-7 with 10:16 left in the second, and Jeff Reed kicked a 37-yard field goal just before halftime to give the Steelers a 10-7 lead.

Reed booted a 38-yard field goal midway through the third, and a 2-yard score from Gary Russell made it 20-7 with 16 seconds left in the period.

Cincinnati cut the gap to 20-10 on a 26-yard field goal from Shayne Graham with 6:47 left, but Roethlisberger sealed the win with an 8-yard TD run with 2:15 to play to make it 27-10.

"It was a great team win for us, but by no means was it perfect," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said.

"I thought that we stumbled out of the gate a little bit both offensively and defensively. They got up on us, but the guys didn't blink. We stuck to the plan, got some execution, and we were able to get a victory. We're very thankful for that."

It wasn't all good news for the Steelers, though. Wide receiver Santonio Holmes departed after taking a big hit in the second quarter, and running back Willie Parker left in the third quarter after aggravating a knee injury.

Ryan Fitzpatrick completed 20-of-37 passes for 168 yards for the Bengals, who were involved in the NFL's first tie in more than six years Sunday against Philadelphia.

Cincinnati lost the time of possession battle by nearly 11 minutes (35:20 - 24:40).

"When you play the Steelers, you are going to be limited in your possessions," Fitzpatrick said.

"They make those three-and-outs hurt that much more, because they are such a possession ball-control offense. You have to take advantage of the opportunities when you get them, and we didn't do that."