PITTSBURGH — Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers know exactly how to beat the Cincinnati Bengals — with or without Chad Ocho Cinco.
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 control the clock behind Roethlisberger and beat Cincinnati 27-10 on Thursday night.
Pittsburgh (8-3) wasn’t dominating — except defensively — in winning its fifth in a row over Cincinnati (1-9-1), its longest streak since an eight-game run in the early 1990s.
“It was a blizzard out there, the wind was coming from the side and a lot of balls were going sideways. I threw a lot of sliders out there,” Roethlisberger said. “It was hard to see.”
The Steelers trailed 7-0 until Roethlisberger threw a 3-yard pass to tight end Heath Miller, their first touchdown in more than seven quarters, and didn’t take control until backup running backs Mewelde Moore and Gary Russell led a third-quarter drive that made it 20-7.
Russell ran 2 yards for his first NFL touchdown with 16 seconds left in the third after Moore, benched four days before 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.
Roethlisberger, who was turnover-free for a second straight game while going 17-of-30 for 243 yards, scored himself from the 8 late in the game as Pittsburgh held a more than 10-minute edge in time of possession.
Jeff Reed also kicked field goals of 37 and 38 yards that weren’t sure things given the slippery field conditions.
Ocho Cinco’s absence, due to an argument he had with coaches at a team meeting, allowed the Steelers to double cover T.J. Houshmandzadeh, who was coming off eightstraight games with six or more catches but found little open space downfield. He ended with four catches for 20 yards.
Cincinnati 7 0 0 3 — 10
Pittsburgh 0 10 10 7 — 27
First quarter
Cin—Holt 10 pass from Fitzpatrick (Graham kick), 3:08.
Second quarter
Pit—Miller 3 pass from Roethlisberger (Reed kick), 10:16. Pit—FG Reed 37, 1:52.
Third quarter
Pit—FG Reed 38, 8:18. Pit—Russell 2 run (Reed kick), :16.
Fourth quarter
Cin—FG Graham 26, 6:47. Pit—Roethlisberger 8 run (Reed kick), 2:15. A—59,854.
Cin Pit
Firstdowns 11 20
Total net yards 208 364
Rushes-yards 20-43 37-121
Passing 165 243
Punt returns 0-0 4-9
Kickoff returns 6-106 3-80
Interceptions ret. 0-0 1-19
Comp-att-int 20-37-1 17-30-0
Sacked-yards lost 1-3 0-0
Punts 8-36.6 5-28.4
Fumbles-lost 0-0 1-1
Penalties-yards 2-15 4-40
Time of possession 24:40 35:20
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Cincinnati, Benson 16-35, Fitzpatrick 2-8, Perry 2-0. Pittsburgh, Moore 15-56, Parker 14-37, Roethlisberger 3-13, C.Davis 1-6, Russell 3-5, Washington 1-4.
PASSING — Cincinnati, Fitzpatrick 20-37-1-168. Pittsburgh, Roethlisberger 17-30-0-243.
RECEIVING — Cincinnati, Houshmandzadeh 4-20, Kelly 3-41, Utecht 3-36, Caldwell 3-26, Henry 2-25, Holt 2-16, Perry 2-0, Benson 1-4.
Pittsburgh, Holmes 5-84, Miller 4-44, Moore 4-41, Sweed 2-25, Ward 1-37, Washington 1-12.
MISSED FIELD GOALS — None.
