Bengals Bounce Steelers 20-10
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Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images(CINCINNATI) — The Cincinnati Bengals’ defense pitched a shutout in the second half, and rookie running back Giovani Bernard scored the first two touchdowns of his career, as the Bengals bounced the Steelers, 20-10 Monday.
“Giovani’s done a really good job,” Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton said. “We drafted him to be a guy that’s versatile; a guy that we can move around and catch the ball out of the backfield and make big plays. That’s exactly what we’ve got out of him. It’s exciting to see him come out and play big in a game like this. He did a really good job.”
Ben Roethlisberger passed for completed 20-of-37 passes for 251 yards and a touchdown but threw a crucial interception at the Bengals’ 13-yard line with just over five minutes left in the game.
For the second straight week the Steelers received nothing from their running game, this week gaining only 44 yards on the ground.
“Obviously, we are a frustrated group right now,” Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said. “I just told them that being frustrated is a natural response. However, we have to accept and acknowledge that we weren’t good enough tonight. However, I emphasized ‘tonight.’ There is a certain amount that we need to swallow with this, and rightfully so, but we have to keep continuing to work and move forward. It starts with that acknowledgement — that they were the better team tonight.”
The Bengals rushed for 127 yards with BenJarvus Green-Ellis gaining 75 of them.
Dalton completed 25-of-45 passes for 280 yards and a touchdown, as the Bengals (1-1) now in a tie with Baltimore for first in the AFC North.
Cincinnati improves to 1-1, while Pittsburgh falls to 0-2 for the first time since 2002.
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