Bengals Beat Steelers 18-12, Lead AFC North

Finally after 40 years of being pushed around and dominated by the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Cincinnati Bengals refused to be bullied any more.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) is sacked by Cincinnati Bengals' Robert Geathers in the second quarter of an NFL football game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2009. (AP Photo/Tom E. Puskar)

(AP)

The Bengals beat the Steelers at their own game in their own stadium, relying on a defense that smothered Ben Roethlisberger and the Super Bowl champions by holding them to four field goals, and one big special teams play for an 18-12 victory Sunday that put them in control of the AFC North.

Shayne Graham kicked four field goals in the second half even as the Bengals (7-2) failed to convert opportunity after opportunity to take control. Bernard Scott's 96-yard kickoff return in the first quarter proved pivotal as Cincinnati, despite playing the second half without ace running back Cedric Benson and failing to convert on the extra point after Scott's score, followed up a 23-20 win over the Steelers (6-3) on Sept. 27.

By sweeping the season series for the first time since 1998, the Bengals effectively lead the division by two games because they own the tiebreaker and, for the first time in their history, a 5-0 division record.

For the Steelers, it was a frustrating defeat after they had won five in a row and were coming off key wins over the Vikings and Broncos.

Now, the Bengals — a lowly 4-11-1 last season — are in first place in a division where the Steelers and Ravens played for the AFC championship last season. Cincinnati — yes, Cincinnati — went 4-0 against those teams this season. And the Steelers, despite a soft schedule the rest of the way, now face an uphill climb against a rival that has won seven of eight and is 4-0 on the road.

The Bengals, who had won only 13 previous times in Pittsburgh since they moved into the same division in 1970, have spent so many years getting manhandled by the Steelers, they tried doing the same thing. And it worked.

They didn't let the Steelers convert any of their final 10 third-down plays, pressured Roethlisberger so much that he passed for only 174 yards on 40 attempts and bottled up Rashard Mendenhall (36 yards, 13 carries) a week after he ran for 155 yards in Denver.