Bengals Recapture Winning Form, 27-3 : AFC: Cincinnati alone in first place in Central Division after victory over Steelers.

The Cincinnati Bengals’ bye last week apparently did the trick.

The Bengals, who had lost four of their last five games, defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers, 27-3, Sunday night to gain sole possession of first place in the AFC Central Division at 6-4.

The win broke their first-place tie with the Steelers (5-5), who had won four of their last five.

“We just put this thing back together again,” said Cincinnati Coach Sam Wyche, who had called his team “flat” two weeks ago in a loss to New Orleans. “I don’t know. Intensity is the word that everybody uses.”

Quarterback Boomer Esiason said two weeks of criticism over the Bengals’ erratic play helped bring the players together.

“The week off was very tough on all of us,” said Esiason, who completed 10 of 16 passes for 137 yards. “We had to listen to all the people who had all the answers. They were saying what a sorry team this was. I think this team gained a little momentum the last two weeks.”

Bengal safety Barney Bussey returned a fumble by Louis Lipps 70 yards for a touchdown and also made a key goal-line tackle.

James Brooks carried 20 times for 105 yards, Ickey Woods and Craig Taylor had short touchdown runs and Esiason ran an offense that didn’t punt until 4:05 was left in the third quarter.

The win was Cincinnati’s fifth straight over Pittsburgh and put the Bengals a game ahead of Houston and the Steelers. The last three times the Steelers have played at Riverfront Stadium, they have lost by a combined 109-20.

“They controlled the line of scrimmage both offensively and defensively,” Pittsburgh Coach Chuck Noll said. “That was really the difference in the game.”

The Bengals took a 10-0 lead at halftime and extended it to 17-0 on their first series in the third quarter.

Cincinnati’s defense, which surrendered 249 rushing yards to New Orleans, came up with several big plays.

The Steelers’ only points came on 31-yard field goal by Gary Anderson with 11:14 left.

The Bengals averted a touchdown by the Steelers with 29 seconds left in the first half when officials ruled that holder Jim Stryzinski was stopped inches short of a touchdown after running on a fake field goal.

The Bengals scored a touchdown on their second possession, driving 63 yards in 13 plays with Woods capping the drive with a five-yard run.