Peter Diana, Post-Gazette Although he was forced to leave the game with a hamstring injury, receiver Plaxico Burress eagerly encouraged officials to award the Steelers a safety after Carson Palmer threw away a pass under pressure in the end zone. Click photo for larger image.

CINCINNATI -- Plaxico Burress' favorite Web site is one devoted to soda.

What kind of soda?

"Pop," said Burress, who drinks the stuff by the boatload.

Yesterday, it was the pop he did not have that made him happy.

Burress left the game early in the second quarter with a hamstring injury and watched the rest from the sideline. He will have a magnetic resonance imaging scan this morning to determine the extent of the injury but was encouraged because, "I didn't pop it, I just strained it."

Burress was off to a fast start against the Cincinnati Bengals when he caught his third pass for a total of 46 yards early in the second quarter. On the next play, an incomplete pass, Burress walked off the field.

"I'm not sure how long that's going to be," coach Bill Cowher said. "He didn't feel it pop, which is a good thing, but it could be a couple of weeks."

If that's the case, Antwaan Randle El will take over, as he did yesterday. Randle El caught two passes for 17 yards filling in for Burress. It was his play on punt returns that kept the Steelers in good field position much of the day.

	Peter Diana, Post-Gazette Antwaan Randle El blows by Bengals safety Anthony Mitchell to give the Steelers good field position on a punt return. Click photo for larger image.

Randle El returned seven punts for 83 yards. He returned Cincinnati's first punt 28 yards to get the Steelers out of a hole. His 30-yard return on the Bengals' second punt put them in position to take a 3-0 lead on Jeff Reed's field goal.

He was one of the best returners in the league last season with a 12-yard average but entered yesterday averaging 5.5 on 24 returns.

"It takes a little time," Randle El said, referring to many blockers from last year being taken off the punt return team. "This is a different group. I lost three guys to starting positions, and then Lee Mays moved up to fourth receiver. And we lost Larry Foote. Also, I lost Clark Haggans, Chris Hope, Troy Polamalu ... those are knockout guys who had been on that punt return team. We've started to come together more and more on punt returns, and it's showing up more and more."

Other injuries

Linebacker Kendrell Bell may miss more time with another groin injury. He left the game in the second quarter and did not return, walking slowly off the field. "Kendrell aggravated his groin," Cowher said. "Again, it's still too early to tell. I don't think it's anything that was ripped or torn. It could be a few weeks with him."

Defensive end Brett Keisel left the game in the third quarter with a hamstring injury.

Special teams ace Chidi Iwuoma did not play because his hamstring was injured during warmup drills.

Under pressure

For the second time this season, Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer threw an interception that the Steelers ran back for a touchdown. Polamalu did it in the Steelers' 28-17 win in October at Heinz Field. Linebacker James Farrior did it yesterday, giving the Steelers a 14-10 lead in the second quarter with his 14-yard return.

Peter Diana, Post-Gazette Carson Palmer was flagged for intentional grounding and a safety after launching this pass from his own end zone while under pressure from Willie Williams, Aaron Smith and Kimo von Oelhoeffen. Click photo for larger image.

"He knows better," Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said of Palmer. "The read on the interception, obviously, wasn't a great read. We just can't guess where to throw the football."

Palmer also was called twice for intentional grounding, the second time in his end zone, resulting in a safety with 2:38 left and the Bengals down by just a field goal.

"I was just trying to throw the ball away," Palmer said. "They did a good job covering down the field. It was either throw it away or get tackled."

Marching backward

The Bengals were penalized 10 times for 97 yards, prompting Lewis to say, "I don't know how in the world we got all those penalties."

On one drive late in the third quarter, receiver Chad Johnson and another Bengal who wasn't identified by referee Larry Nemmers were called for holding. On the first drive of the fourth quarter, Palmer was called for intentional grounding on the first play and Johnson was called for another holding call on the second, turning a first-and-10 at the Cincinnati 36 into a 2-and-27 at the 19.

"It's tough to call plays on first-and-20 or second-and-20," Palmer said.

"We're running the ball down their throat, and then there's a holding penalty," offensive tackle Willie Anderson said. "That just takes your spirit away."

Johnson disputed his two holding calls: "I don't know what they were about. Those were good blocks, really good blocks. I get a pancake, and then I get called for holding? I don't understand it."

A few hits and a miss

	Peter Diana, Post-Gazette Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Duane Clemons collects one of his 2 1/2 sacks. Click photo for larger image.

The Bengals had a simple explanation for sacking Ben Roethlisberger a season-high seven times and forcing him to take an intentional grounding penalty, fumble once and scramble eight times.

"Mostly, it was a case of guys just beating their man," said defensive end Duane Clemons, who had 2 1/2 sacks. "Our four guys up front were consistently beating their man."

It was a sack the Bengals didn't get that haunted them.

Defensive tackle John Thornton thought he should have had Roethlisberger midway through the third quarter on a play Roethlisberger turned into a 26-yard pass to tight end Jerame Tuman. The Steelers scored three plays later to take a 17-14 lead.

"He's really strong and hard to pull down," Thornton said. "He does a great job of shaking the first guy off. It seems like it's the same thing in every one of their games. That's how he makes a lot of plays. You have to give him credit."

Actually, Thornton, who played at West Virginia, gave credit to all of the Steelers: "They're pretty good. They can beat you in a lot of different ways. Even when Ben isn't having a good day, other guys pick it up."

Extra points

Fullback Dan Kreider's four receptions matched his previous high for a game. He had only two catches in the first nine games, only nine all last season. "Sometimes that's how it works," said Kreider, who opened many of the holes Jerome Bettis ran through for his 129 yards. "Sometimes, I'm the hot route on plays because they were blitzing guys on the edges."

Roethlisberger has done all kinds of things but one thing he was not asked to do in his first 7 1/2 games was a quarterback sneak. Yesterday, he did it twice on third down and picked up the first down both times, each gaining 3 yards.

While teammates showered, dressed and gave interviews in the locker room after the game, Tommy Maddox, Clint Kriewaldt and Tuman stood glued to an overhead television. Watching a late NFL game? "Heck, no, I see enough football," Maddox said. They were watching the final NASCAR race of the season to determine the Nextel Cup champion.

Inactive lists

Steelers: Iwuoma, running backs Duce Staley and Dante Brown, cornerback Chad Scott, offensive linemen Barrett Brooks and Jim Jones, tight end Jay Riemersma and linebacker Alonzo Jackson.

Bengals: quarterback Casey Bramlet, cornerbacks Rashad Bauman and Deltha O'Neal, running back Chris Perry, linebacker Caleb Miller, offensive linemen Alex Sulfsted and Stacey Andrews, and defensive tackle Terrance Martin.