CINCINNATI — When the Bengals came into Pittsburgh and beat the Steelers by two touchdowns in Week 3, wide receiver Tyler Boyd said it looked like his hometown team was content to just “lay down” in the final minutes. This time around, the Steelers never bothered to stand up.
The Bengals led by 10 nine minutes in, 28 at halftime and finished off a 41-10 drubbing of the Steelers (5-5-1) that is tied for the largest margin of defeat under Mike Tomlin as head coach. It also gives the Bengals (7-4) their first season sweep of the series since 2009. They’ve now won three in a row in this matchup for the first time since 1990.
Ben Roethlisberger was much better last week when he didn’t practice, and his game was reminiscent of those early in the season when he could hardly do anything right. He threw for 263 yards on 24-of-41 passing with a late touchdown, one interception that might not have been his fault, one lost fumble and a horrendous pick-six to former teammate Mike Hilton late in the first half.
The offense was only slightly worse than the defense, which allowed a career-high 165 yards plus two touchdowns to Bengals running back Joe Mixon, who took off for 25 yards on his second carry of the day as a sign of things to come. In all, Cincinnati out-rushed the Steelers, 198-51.
It was over when: Hilton jumped in front of a weak Roethlisberger throw as he tried to step up into the pocket but had nowhere to go with left tackle Dan Moore Jr. being pushed back into him. The slot cornerback who became a fan favorite over the last five years in Pittsburgh ran it back easily for a 24-yard score, made it 31-3 and effectively put a fork in this one before halftime.
Player of the game: Mixon. Second-year quarterback Joe Burrow was good, finding windows all day — against man and zone — and even using his legs to run for a score the way Justin Herbert did last week. He finished with 190 yards, one touchdown and one pick on 20-of-24 passing. But it was establishing a ground game led by Mixon that allowed Burrow and Tee Higgins — who had six grabs for 114 yards and a score — to find so much success through the air when needed. Mixon averaged nearly 6 yards per carry and broke off a 32-yarder.
Trending up: Minkah Fitzpatrick. He got juked out by Burrow at the goal line on the first touchdown of the game, but he did intercept Burrow late in the second quarter. It was a much-needed splash play for Fitzpatrick, who hadn't picked off a pass in over a year. Perhaps it can spark a resurgence of takeaways for him down the stretch.
Trending down: James Pierre. Lot of competition for this one, but it was one step forward, several steps back for a secondary playing without Joe Haden for the second week in a row. The Bengals took advantage of that early and often, picking on Pierre for a 32-yard touchdown pass to Higgins early in the second quarter, then a 16-yard catch on 3rd-and-12 several minutes later. Pierre even got called for an illegal cut tackle attempt on an offensive lineman on an 8-yard run by Mixon. The Steelers now have lost eight games in a row when Haden is inactive.
Next up: The first “Ravens Week” of this season, with the AFC North leaders visiting Heinz Field for a 4:25 p.m. kickoff next Sunday. You can watch the Ravens defend their division lead Sunday night against the Browns, but if Cleveland wins, the Bengals will be in first place.
