Rush offense, A: The Steelers had the NFL's best rush defense at 70.4 yards a game. The Bengals gained twice that many, 141. Corey Dillon ran for 91, and when he was out with a dislocated finger in overtime, Brandon Bennett had a 36-yard run on the winning drive in overtime.

        Pass offense, A: Jon Kitna has 411 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Offensive line allows just two sacks to a defense that had 49 coming in. Pittsburgh had the fourth-ranked pass defense, too. Darnay Scott and Peter Warrick had more than 100 yards receiving, and T.J. Houshmandzadeh had 98.

        Rush defense, A: OK, Jerome Bettis didn't play for the fourth consecutive game, but the Steelers had been averaging 169 yards on the ground without him. They had just 73 yards total for a 2.6-yard average. Quarterback Kordell Stewart had 499 rushing yards coming in. He had 0 Sunday.

        Pass defense, A: Stewart had thrown five interceptions in 14 games. He threw four against the Bengals, including three to cornerbacks. The four interceptions came on the final six Pittsburgh possessions after it had taken a 23-10 lead late in the third quarter.

        Special teams, C: Neil Rackers missed two field goals and the extra point that would have won the game in regulation. But he made two field goals, including the game winner in overtime from 31 yards, and executed a perfect onside kick that was recovered by rookie linebacker Riall Johnson. Houshmandzadeh fumbled the opening kickoff.

        Coaching, A: Dick LeBeau's team didn't quit, even after it fell behind 14-0 in the first quarter. Credit coordinator Bob Bratkowski and the offensive assistants for coming up with an outstanding gameplan that attacked the Steelers NFL-best defense all day and finally found the endzone. Where was this offense the past seven weeks? Another excellent job by defensive coordinator Mark Duffner, limiting the Steelers third-best offense (371.3 yards) to 313.

Bengals 26, Steelers 23 Steelers-Bengals photo gallery Game statistics Bengals report card DAUGHERTY: Bengals' win can't obscure problems SULLIVAN: No field day for Rackers Kitna sets personal bests Receivers reach milestones Bean gets big scoop on fumble Hawkins injured after interceptions Farmer aches, but pain is Steelers' Steelers take step backward NFL playoff scenarios Redskins 40, Saints 10

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