CINCINNATI _ The Steelers, getting help again from the imploding Bengals, came from two touchdowns behind to beat Cincinnati, 24-20, at Paul Brown Stadium.
Their fifth consecutive victory lifted the Steelers to a 9-5 record heading into their showdown against Baltimore on Christmas Day at Heinz Field. Cincinnati fell to 5-8-1.
The Steelers took their first lead with 7:29 left in the game on their first touchdown _ a 24-yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Eli Rogers.
That put them in the lead, 24-20, after their two-point conversion try failed on an incomplete pass. They had trailed the Bengals 20-6 in the second quarter.
The Bengals aided that go-ahead drive by committing four penalties on four consecutive plays, the final one a personal foul.
The game ended with Roethlisberger taking a knee from the Bengals 1 to run out the clock rather than try to score again.
Before that go-ahead touchdown, all the Steelers' scoring came off the right foot of Chris Boswell, who tied a team record with six field goals, three of them from 49 yards.
Cincinnati held onto a shaky 20-15 lead after three quarters. Boswell kicked his fourth and fifth field goals of the game for the only scores in the quarter.
Linebacker Lawrence Timmons intercepted an Andy Dalton pass and returned it 16 yards and as the third quarter ended. The Steelers moved to the 12 but failed on second and third down to get any closer and Boswell came on to kick his sixth field goal, with 12:25 to go. The Bengals led 20-18.
Boswell's fourth field goal with 10:38 left in the second quarter cut Cincinnati's lead to 20-12. It came on the opening drive of the game and featured two personal foul penalties, one against each team.
Boswell then kicked his fifth field goal of the day and third from 49 yards with 2:05 to go in the third quarter. It was 20-15 Bengals.
They trailed the Bengals 20-9 at halftime and lost defensive end Stephon Tuitt, one of their best players. He left the game after the third play with a right knee injury and never returned.
In the second quarter, Ricardo Mathews left with a right ankle injury but he returned to play in the second half.
The Bengals scored on their first three offensive series of the game, a field goal and two touchdowns. Boswell scored all nine of the Steelers points in the first half on field goals of 45, 49 and 49 yards.
Cincinnati stretched its lead to 17-3 in the second quarter when Jeremy Hill ran for a 4-yard touchdown on third down with 9:02 left in the second quarter. Dalton completed two big passes consecutively on that drive, for 25 yards to Brandon LaFell and 18 to Rex Burkhead.
The Steelers had their only touchdown of the first half nullified. Roethlisberger threw a 13-yard strike to Antonio Brown in the end zone on third down, but Le'Veon Bell was penalized for a chop block, putting the ball back on the 28. They had to settle for Boswell's 49-yard field goal.
Cincinnati led 17-6 with 5:25 to go in the half but was not finished. Alex Erickson returned the kickoff 72 yards to the Steelers' 26. A short drive thereafter ended in Randy Bullock's 22-yard field goal, the second of the game for the kicker released by the Steelers last Monday.
The Steelers then drove back to score on Boswell's third field goal, from 49 yards, with 6 seconds left in the half.
There was little good news for the Steelers after the Bengals jumped in front 10-3 after one quarter.
The Bengals scored on their opening drive after they were seemingly stopped on the third play. But as Tuitt and William Gay sacked Dalton, Tuitt was penalized for grabbing the quarterback's facemask and left the game after that play with his knee injury.
Given new life at the 46, the Bengals moved to a first down at the seven. There, the Steelers defense again stiffened near the goal line and Bullock booted a 23-yard field goal and a 3-0 Cincinnati lead.
Boswell tied it up with a 45-yard field goal on their first drive. Sammie Coates returned the kickoff 44 yards to get that series off to a good start.
A 39-yard pass interference penalty against rookie cornerback Artie Burns in the end zone helped the Bengals to their next score on their second series. Burns ran into LaFell without ever seeing the ball.
The Steelers defense stopped three runs by Jeremy Hill for no gain. On fourth down, Dalton sneaked over the middle for the touchdown and a 10-3 lead on the final play of the first quarter.
