Robin Rombach, Post-Gazette Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is sacked for a 5-yard loss by Bengals linebacker David Pollack on Pittsburgh's final, unsuccessful, drive of the fourth quarter. Click photo for larger image

By Ed Bouchette
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Peter Diana, Post-Gazette Receiver Hines Ward stands at the edge of the turf at Heinz Field after the loss to Cincinnati. Ward caught two touchdown passes, but also lost a fumble and dropped a possible third TD ball at the 1-yard line. Click photo for larger image. More pro football More game pictures in the Steelers photo journal Steelers suffer an afternoon of lost opportunities Steelers Notebook: Making playoffs a major challenge Steelers' next opponent: Bears capture eighth win in a row Stats and more in the Sports Forecaster NFL Watch

After all the Steelers' fumbles and interceptions yesterday, the Bengals forced their most significant turnover in 15 years. The Steelers passed the AFC North torch, and Cincinnati intercepted it.

The Bengals held off the Steelers, 38-31, in their showdown at Heinz Field and left them trailing smoke in the division, two back with four to go.

"It's time for a change," Cincinnati receiver Chad Johnson said. "It's like going from a black and white TV to a color TV. It was Pittsburgh; it's Cincinnati now, and it'll probably be that way for a while now."

The Steelers, division champions in two of the past three years, slipped to 7-5 after losing their third consecutive game. The Bengals clinched their first winning season in 15 years at 9-3.

"They're not the Bengals of old," Steelers guard Alan Faneca said.

They've long been known as the Bungles, but that more appropriately described the Steelers' play yesterday. Ben Roethlisberger threw three interceptions, and his teammates fumbled four times, dropped passes, played poorly on special teams and contributed just the right amount of penalties to put the cherry on top of a loss that might well cause them to miss the playoffs.

"There were some obstacles that we created for ourselves that we just could not overcome," coach Bill Cowher said.

The Steelers mangled the Bengals in total yards, 474-324, but they also lost four turnovers and allowed a 94-yard kickoff return in the third quarter that killed the buzz among the crowd of 63,044 after Hines Ward tied the score with a 20-yard touchdown reception.

Roethlisberger threw career highs in every category: 29 completions, 41 attempts, 386 yards and three touchdowns. But then, so were his three interceptions, matching the number he threw in the AFC championship last January.

	Robin Rombach, Post-Gazette Bengals cornerback Deltha O'Neal intercepts a third quarter pass intended for Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward. O'Neal returned the ball 37 yards. Click photo for larger image.

"I made too many mistakes. I'll take the blame," said Roethlisberger, who said his injured right thumb "hurts a little bit."

There was much blame to spread around, such as two fumbles by Willie Parker that prompted Cowher to yank him from the game, even though Faneca recovered both. Or the lost fumble on an end-around by Ward, who also dropped a pass at the goal line.

Despite all their mistakes, the Steelers got the ball back at their 24 with 2:26 left and trailing by seven.

"We still had a chance to win that game," Ward said.

If it weren't for a holding penalty against Tyrone Carter on the Bengals' punt, they would have started at the 46. But that theme continued on their final series. On second-and-4, tackle Max Starks was penalized for a false start. On the next play, tackle Trai Essex was called for holding. On the next play, rookie linebacker David Pollack sacked Roethlisberger, who also was sacked on fourth down.

Game, set, and perhaps the 2005 match for the Steelers.

"I don't think right now we're the most confident team," center Jeff Hartings said.

Neither team held more than a seven-point lead until Cincinnati went in front, 38-24, on Rudi Johnson's second touchdown run with 6:09 left.

	Peter Diana, Post-Gazette Jerome Bettis holds the ball aloft for the Heinz Field faithful after scoring untouched from a yard out to give the Steelers a 7-0 lead against the Bengals. Click photo for larger image.

Bettis scored the first touchdown of the game on a 1-yard run, but Roethlisberger and his passing game set the tone right from the start. With the Bengals packing sometimes 10 men around the line of scrimmage to stop the run, he went to the air. He hit tight ends Jerame Tuman (26 yards) and Heath Miller (21) to get the first drive going, and he would follow with 31 to Ward, a 25-yard touchdown pass to Quincy Morgan and a 41-yard pass to Cedrick Wilson.

Ward also caught a 20-yard touchdown pass as he led the Steelers with nine receptions and 135 yards.

But the big play also helped doom the Steelers. Carson Palmer -- who completed 22 of 38 for 227 yards -- tossed the first of his three touchdown passes, of 43 yards to T.J. Houshmandzadeh after it went through cornerback Ricardo Colclough's hands at the goal line to tie the score, 7-7.

Morgan's touchdown made it 14-7, but Cincinnati tied it on Palmer's 1-yard pass to Reggie Kelly. The Bengals took their first lead after Brian Simmons picked off a Roethlisberger pass and his 16-yard return combined with a 15-yard penalty put the ball on the Steelers' 22. Houshmandzadeh scored again on a 6-yard pass from Palmer, his third scoring throw.

Jeff Reed cut the lead to 21-17 with a 23-yard field goal after Ward's drop at the goal line. It became 24-17 early in the second half on Shayne Graham's 30-yard field goal.

	Peter Diana, Post-Gazette Receiver Hines Ward breaks into the Ickey Shuffle, a dance that running back Ickey Woods performed for the Bengals of the early 1990s, after catching a 20-yard pass to tie the score, 24-24, in the third quarter. Click photo for larger image.

Two minutes later, the Steelers covered 48 yards on four plays, the first and last receptions by Ward, 20 yards for the touchdown that tied it.

Ward performed the old Ickey Shuffle, and Heinz Field was in an uproar. The place grew suddenly still, though, when rookie Tab Perry took Reed's kickoff and ran it back 94 yards to the Steelers' 3. Johnson scored from the 1 to give the Bengals a 31-24 lead they would not surrender.

"I tried to get the crowd into it," Ward said. "The whole stadium was going. Then it was dead silent when they ran it all the way back. You can't do that."

The Steelers had a first down at the 42 when Roethlisberger rolled right, threw toward Ward, and rookie linebacker Odell Thurman intercepted it. Six plays later, Rudi Johnson had his second touchdown, a 14-yard tackle-breaking run around right end.

The Bengals led by 14 with six minutes left. Ward's second touchdown catch brought the Steelers within seven, and their defense got them the ball back with 2:26 to go.

They were confident on the home team sideline.

"Of course," Starks said. "We had plenty of time on the clock, had two timeouts left and the two-minute warning. Who wouldn't feel confident?"

There's not much confidence left that the Steelers can win the division or make it to the playoffs.

"When you hit adversity, you see what type of players you have on your team," Ward said. "Who's going to quit? Who's going to keep fighting? The encouraging thing is we fought to the end."

It looked just like that, too. The end, that is.

	Robin Rombach, Post-Gazette Steelers fans Susan Bates of Coraopolis, left, and her friend, Jane Stevens of Robinson, watch the Steelers lose to the Bengals at chilly Heinz Field. Click photo for larger image