The Steelers knew that they had to take care of business against the Bengals to stay in the hunt for the AFC North Division title.
Behind two Rashard Mendenhall touchdowns and a solid defensive performance, the Steelers routed the Cincinnati Bengals 35-7 at Heinz Field.
“It was a good team win for us,” said Ben Roethlisberger. “It was fun to put a lot of points on the board and it’s good to get a win against a divisional opponent.”
Roethlisberger threw for 176 yard and two touchdowns.
The defense played a solid game forcing two turnovers while James Harrison sacked the Bengals’ quarterbacks three times.
“We were able to get more pressure because we were able to get up and stay up,” said Harrison. “They had to do a little more passing than I think that they were planning on doing when they came into the game.”
Antonio Brown got his first career punt return for a touchdown when he ran back a 60 yard punt in the second quarter.
“I set it up in the middle,” said Brown. “I took it left and I knew that I was going to work back right. I was able to get all the guys set up on the inside, my guys were in great position and Bryant McFadden blocked the last guy for me to get around the edge. From there it was me and the punter.”
With the win, the Steelers improved to 9-3 on the season and are still tied with the Baltimore Ravens atop the AFC North Division, with the Ravens holding the tiebreaker.
The Steelers hold a two game advantage for the top Wildcard spot with games remaining against Cleveland (12/8), San Francisco (12/19), St. Louis (12/24) and Cleveland (1/1).
Notes: With his catch in the second quarter, Hines Ward surpassed 12,000 receiving yards in his career, becoming the first Steeler ever to accomplish that feat… Ward threw the milestone ball to the sidelines to save, but backup quarterback Charlie Batch picked up the ball and flipped it to the NFL ball boy to re-use. Ooops! Someone quickly ran over and got the ball back… Ben Roethlisberger became the most “sacked” quarterback in Steelers history, passing Terry Bradshaw..
Image Source – (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)
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