The Bengals stood and traded punches with the Steelers for a half.
But when the Steelers started bringing the defensive pressure (and the trick plays) in the second half, it started to get away from them.
The Steelers pulled away for a 29-14 win over the Bengals, picking off Andy Dalton twice in the second half and sacking him four times in the second half.
That was enough, but the Steelers backed up last week’s win over the Chiefs to improve to 5-2. The Bengals saw a two-game win streak fall aside, and fell to 2-4.
The coolest play (and longest) of the game was a fake punt in the fourth quarter (which was kind of rubbing it in), when Steelers upback Robert Golden hit Darrius Heyward-Bey for a 44-yard gain.
But that was just icing, after the Steelers defense took over in the second half.
The Steelers offense didn’t commit a penalty, and kept Ben Roethlisberger from getting sacked, which was enough for them on a day when the league’s third-ranked defense out-performed the Bengals’ No. 2 unit.
Cincinnati managed just 179 yards of total offense, 19 of them in the second half.