Troy Polamalu and LaMarr Woodley returned interceptions for touchdowns and the host Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 23-7 Sunday for their fourth straight victory.
The Steelers entered the game with the No. 1 rushing defense at 62.3 yards per game and held the Bengals to 34 yards.
Woodley’s 14-yard return with 12:27 left gave the Steelers a 20-7 lead. He also had two sacks and five tackles.
Polamalu’s score came from 45 yards out in the second quarter to make it 7-7. His second interception at the Pittsburgh goal line with 2:09 remaining ended any hopes of a Cincinnati comeback.
Carson Palmer was 20 of 31 for 178 yards for the Bengals (2-11), who have lost 10 straight. Palmer’s 1-yard touchdown pass to tackle Andrew Whitworth in the first quarter gave the Bengals a 7-0 lead.
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, playing with a shield to protect his broken nose, finished 21 of 33 for 258 yards, including 115 to Hines Ward.
Shaun Suisham kicked three field goals for the Steelers (10-3). He is 9 for 9 on field goals and 9 for 9 on extra points since he was signed by Pittsburgh on Nov. 16.
Cincinnati | Pittsburgh | |
Cedric Benson | Player | Rashard Mendenhall |
8 | Attempts | 18 |
19 | Yards | 66 |
2.4 | Avg Yards | 3.7 |
0 | Touchdowns | 0 |
7 | Long | 10 |
Cincinnati | Pittsburgh | |
Chad OchoCinco | Player | Hines Ward |
6 | Receptions | 8 |
71 | Yards | 115 |
11.8 | Avg Yards | 14.4 |
0 | Touchdowns | 0 |
16 | Long | 29 |
Yards | Scoring | Defense | ||||||
Team | Tot | Rus | Pas | TD | FG | INT | Sck | FF |
Cincinnati | 190 | 34 | 156 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 | 0 |
Pittsburgh | 354 | 123 | 231 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3.0 | 0 |