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Cedric
Benson (32) runs the ball against the Pittsburg Steelers Sunday.
The Bengals five
game winning streak was snapped in the 24-17 loss to
the Steelers. Photo Courtesy of bengals.com.
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Bengals winning
streak snapped
yahoo sports
CINCINNATI—With the game on the line, rookie Andy Dalton couldn’t
handle a little old-fashioned Pittsburgh defense.
Rashard Mendenhall ran for a pair of touchdowns Sunday, and the
Steelers intercepted Dalton twice in the fourth quarter, holding on for
a 24-17 victory over the upstart Cincinnati Bengals.
Pittsburgh (7-3) ended the Bengals’ five-game winning streak and got a
needed victory. Ben Roethlisberger led long, balanced drives while
thousands of Steelers fans waved Terrible Towels in the first sellout
crowd of the season at Paul Brown Stadium.
Mendenhall’s 9-yard run put the Steelers’ up 24-17 late in the third
quarter. Cincinnati (6-3) had a couple of late chances behind its
impressive young quarterback, who handled most of what Steelers
defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau threw at him.
Dalton had two more touchdown passes, giving him 14 overall—the most by
a rookie quarterback in his first nine games since the AFL-NFL merger
in 1970. He wasn’t sacked even though the Steelers blitzed him every
way they could.
Near the end, a Steelers defense that’s starting to get healthy and
force turnovers finally thwarted him.
Pittsburgh came in with only two interceptions all season. Cornerback
William Gay anticipated Dalton’s throw and stepped in front of Jerome
Simpson for a clinching interception inside the Pittsburgh 20-yard line
with 2:27 left.
Dalton was 15 of 30 for 170 yards and touchdown passes of 36 yards to
fellow rookie A.J. Green and 1 yard to Jermaine Gresham. Green twisted
his right knee on his first-quarter catch and was limited the rest of
the way, relegated to standing on the sideline for the decisive moments
of the fourth quarter.
Once the Steelers stopped their self-destruction, they put it away.
The defending AFC champions needed this one. The Steelers already have
been swept by Baltimore, and a loss in Cincinnati would have left them
0-3 in division games—a bad mark in a big tiebreaker.
They got off to another fast start, then held on in a gusty wind that
made the goal posts shimmy and passes float.
Roethlisberger was 21 of 33 for 245 yards with one touchdown and an
interception. He was sacked five times, matching his season high.
Roethlisberger found Jerricho Cotchery uncovered in the end zone for a
16-yard score that got thousands of Terrible Towels waving. It was the
fifth time in the last six games that the Steelers reached the end zone
on their opening possession.
Mendenhall ran 2 yards for a 14-0 lead on the Steelers’ next
possession. At that point, Pittsburgh had a 132-8 advantage in yards.
Dalton got the Bengals back in it by doing what he does best—throw the
ball Green’s way so he can make a game-changing play. After running
away from the pass rush, Dalton threw 36 yards to Green, who went up
between safeties Troy Polamalu and Ryan Clark to make the catch in the
end zone.
Green, the NFL’s top rookie receiver, landed awkwardly on his right leg
on the play. He lay on the field for a couple of minutes and limped off
with a sore right knee, but returned for the next series. He was on the
sideline during the second half.
The Steelers helped the Bengals keep it close.
Tight end Heath Miller bobbled a pass directly to cornerback Leon Hall
for an interception that set up Mike Nugent’s 43-yard field goal,
cutting it to 14-10. Miller had another bad moment late in the first
half, wiping out an apparent touchdown with an interference penalty.
Shaun Suisham’s 39-yard field goal gave Pittsburgh a 17-10 halftime
lead.
Hall, the Bengals’ top cornerback, hurt his left Achilles tendon on
that drive and didn’t return.
Dalton pulled the Bengals even with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Gresham
on their first drive of the second half. Pittsburgh then pulled off a
tone-setting drive, covering 81 yards in 11 plays. Mendenhall’s 9-yard
run put the Steelers up 24-17 late in the third quarter.
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