Steelers handle depleted Bengals

PITTSBURGH - Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers know exactly how to beat the Cincinnati Bengals - with or without Chad Ocho Cinco, who was deactivated for violating team rules.

The Steelers limited the depleted Bengals to six first downs following an early touchdown and found just enough offense amid the snow flurries to control the clock and beat Cincinnati, 27-10, last 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. 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 ran four times for 21 yards and made a 22-yard reception during a 64-yard drive.

Roethlisberger, turnover-free for a second successive game while going 17 of 30 for 243 yards, scored from the 8 late in the game as Pittsburgh held more than a 10-minute edge in time of possession.

Jeff Reed also kicked field goals of 37 and 38 yards.

Ryan Fitzpatrick, under constant pressure from a Pittsburgh defense that leads the NFL in almost every major statistical category, was below 100 yards in passing until a brief drive in the fourth quarter that ended with Shayne Graham's 26-yard field goal. He finished 20 of 37 for 168 yards, but the Bengals were outgained, 364-208.