The Pittsburgh Steelers trounced the Cincinnati Bengals in Paul Brown Stadium today to the tune of 38-10. The win improved the Steelers record to 5-1, while the Bengals fell to 0-7.
Going into the game the main danger for the Steelers was complacency. And for a while, it looked like the Steelers were going to let the Bengals into the game.
After jumping to a quick 10-0 lead, the Steelers followed up with three straight punts and were miserably failing to convert third downs. The defense held the Bengals in check until the final drive of the first half, when Bengals marched 92 yards in fourteen plays to bring the score to 10-7 at the half.
The Steelers scored at the top of the second half to extend their lead to 10 points, but the Bengals marched 49 yards downfield, and succeeded in converting a four down inside the endzone. But the Steelers defense held fast, and forced the Bengals to settle for a field goal.
After another three and out, the Steelers offense went on to score another 21 unanswered points, while Dick LeBeau turned his defense loose on Ryan Fitzpatrick, as James Harrison, LaMarr Woodley, Lawrence Timmons, and James Farrior combined for 7 sacks.
On offense, the Steelers were lead by Ben Roethlisberger and Mewelde Moore. Making his second start in as many weeks, Mewelde Moore had 20 carries for 120 yards, while Ben Roethlisberger completed 17 passes for 216 yards, and connected on touchdowns to Mewelde Moore and Nate Washington.
- Byron Leftwich came in to relieve Roethlisberger in the fourth quater, and connected on a 16 yard pass to Hines Ward.
For the first time all season the Steelers offensive line held an opposing defense sackless (ok, the Cincy defense isn’t exactly a reincarnation of the ’85 Bears defense), and second round pick Limas Sweed made his first catch of the season, hauling in one grab for 11 yards.
[In the interest of transparency, this write up is based on what I could gather from listening to the broadcast on the radio and reading summaries on the internet. Direct TV Argentina, in its infinite wisdom, decided not to allow Sunday Ticket subscribers to see the Bengals game. I guess they decided I wanted to see the 49ers vs. the Giants, or the Cowboys vs. the Rams, or the Vikings vs. the Bears…. They were wrong. You can read my Direct TV rant here.]
Steelers fans rank in top 5 in professional sports
http://fanzak.com/fzrants/Best_Fans_Ever