Joe Soriano
O.J. LewisSteelers improve to 7-3 by beating the Bengals.
The Pittsburg Steelers improved their record to 7-3 by defeating the 1-8-1 Cinncinati Bengals by a score of 27-10. The Bengals were only able to manage 208 total yards against the Steelers defense, while the Steelers were able to hammer out 364 yards against the Bengals, using a balanced attack, 243 yards passing and 121 yards rushing. The Bengals started the scoring in the first quarter with an eleven play, sixty-two yard drive that culminated with a 10 yd pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick to Glenn Hold. In the second quarter, Roethlisberger hit Heath Miller with a 3 yard touchdown pass to tie the score at seven all. Jeff Reed of the Steelers hit two field goals, one from 37 yards out and the other form 38 yards out to make the score 13-7. The Steelers gave themselves some breathing room when Gary Russell punched the the ball into the end zone from the two yard line to give the Steelers a 20-7 lead with 21 seconds remaining in the Third Quarter. The Bengals added a 26 yard field goal to make the score 20-10. Ben Roethlisberger then closed out the scoring with an eight yard run to make the score 27-10 with 2:22 remaining in the game. There were a couple of subplots in the game. Ocho Cinco was suspended by his team for violation of a team rule. It was reported by ESPN that the suspension involved a team meeting and a verbal confrontation with a coach. In addition, Hines Ward broke the jaw of a Bengals player in their previous meeting this year, and there was some fear that there might be some retaliation by the Bengals. Nothing out of the ordinary occurred, but the Bengals did keep Ward in check, allowing him only one catch for 37 yards.
