By Mark Curnutte
Enquirer staff writer

PITTSBURGH - The good news Sunday was the Bengals allowed 89 fewer rushing yards than the previous week.

PHOTO GALLERY

Photos from Sunday's game

The bad news was the Steelers still ran for 165 yards in their 28-17 AFC North victory.

The Bengals have allowed 663 rushing yards in four games, and opponents have averaged 5.2 yards a carry.

The most important yards yielded by the Bengals came on the go-ahead Pittsburgh touchdown drive that spanned the third and fourth quarters.

The Bengals led 17-14 at the time.

Kyle Larson had pinned the Steelers at their 11-yard line. Pittsburgh ran nine times for 45 yards on the drive, Duce Staley breaking loose for 16- and 14-yard runs on the drive. The 16-yarder came on third down.

"We've got to get them when we need them," Bengals linebacker Kevin Hardy said of defensive stops. "We didn't get the job done when we had the lead. In a game like this, you know the other team is going to come back to the basics. As it turned out, that's the game right there."

The Steelers ran 40 times. Rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger dropped back to pass 26 times.

The Steelers were going to make the Bengals stop them on the ground. Staley ran 25 times for 123 yards, the third back to rush for 100 yards in four games.

"I don't think we had a panic mode," Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said of halftime defensive adjustments. "It still comes down to tackling. We had their back in the backfield two or three times in the first half, same with the quarterback."

The Bengals did force Staley into two fumbles on running plays.

Cornerback Deltha O'Neal stripped Staley in the first quarter. Linebacker Caleb Miller recovered on the Steelers 27. The Bengals converted the turnover into a touchdown and a 7-0 lead.

In the third quarter, after the Bengals took a 17-14 lead, end Duane Clemons knocked the ball away from Staley, and rookie safety Madieu Williams recovered. The Bengals drove 19 yards, but turned the ball right back on a Kenny Watson fumble.

"We did some good things but didn't make enough plays to win the ballgame," linebacker Brian Simmons said.

Eleven of the Steelers' 23 first downs were on the ground.

In the last eight games, the Bengals have allowed an average of 183 yards on the ground. They have a 2-6 record in those games.

The loss of starting strong safety Rogers Beckett didn't help. He left with double vision.

Free safety Kevin Kaesviharn was deactivated before the game because of back spasms. The injuries forced the Bengals to shift their defensive secondary.

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E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com

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