A Team of a Different Stripe

Forget about the folly of a franchise long known as the Bungles. The Cincinnati Bengals proved to the Pittsburgh Steelers they’re the best team in the AFC North right now and, most of all, they proved it to themselves.

The Bengals went into Pittsburgh on Sunday, stood up to the team they rarely beat and all but secured their first division championship in 15 years, riding Carson Palmer’s three touchdown passes and a defense that forced four more turnovers in an all-important 38-31 victory.

Rudi Johnson ran for their final two scores, one after a 94-yard Tab Perry kickoff return, the other after Ben Roethlisberger’s third interception.

With four games to play, the Bengals (9-3) lead the AFC North by two games. They’re assured of their first winning record since 1990 and are closing in on their first playoff appearance since the days of the Ickey Shuffle and Wicky Wacky Sam Wyche.

“None of us have been in this situation before,” Palmer said. “... But in no way are we set. We have a chance to be 13-3 and that’s what we’re working toward.”

The Steelers (7-5) got a gutty effort from Roethlisberger (29 for 41, 386 yards, three touchdowns, three interceptions) despite a possible broken right thumb, but lost their third in a row and are in danger of missing the playoffs a year after going 15-1. If they’d won, they would have effectively been in the division lead by virtue of tiebreakers. Now, they face an uphill climb to get a wild-card berth.

The Steelers were 20-7 against the Bengals under Coach Bill Cowher, including a 27-13 rout in Cincinnati on Oct. 23. “But they’re not the Bengals of old,” Steeler guard Alan Faneca said. “Since Marvin Lewis came in, they’ve been a different team. They’re starting to become a lot better.”