CINCINNATI -- The Steelers couldn't decide which was more difficult to fathom, Lee Flowers getting two interceptions in a game or nose tackle Casey Hampton running 36 yards with the football as though he were holding a loaf of bread.
 |
 |
|
Linebacker James Farrior stops Bengals running back Corey Dillion, who manages only 57 yards on 17 carries. (Peter Diana, Post-Gazette) |
"I couldn't believe he stayed on his feet that long," Coach Bill Cowher said of Hampton. "He hasn't run that far since the run test in Latrobe. He was hoping someone would catch him."
The Steelers had more than just a number of big plays from their offense in a 34-7 pasting of the Cincinnati Bengals yesterday.
The defense limited the Bengals to just one touchdown and had five sacks on quarterback Jon Kitna, who torched them for 411 yards in their previous meeting.
Defensive end Rodney Bailey had a career-high 2 1/2 sacks. Linebacker Joey Porter had two more sacks, raising his team-leading total to six. He also stripped from Kitna the ball that Hampton picked out of the air and carried on his mad dash to the end zone.
"Back in my old days, I used to run the ball," said Hampton, a squat, 6-foot, 310-pound nose tackle. "I wanted to show them I got a little ball-handling skill."
Hampton's jaunt helped set up the Steelers' third touchdown -- a 4-yard swing pass to fullback Dan Kreider that gave the Steelers a 24-0 lead heading to halftime.
Flowers' first interception set up Todd Peterson's 34-yard field goal. His second led to Jerome Bettis' 41-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
Before yesterday, Flowers had only two interceptions in four previous years as a starter in the National Football League. He had gone 30 games without an interception before he picked off Kitna's second-down pass in the second quarter.
"I think, in the past, I've had opportunities, but I've always had brick hands," Flowers said. "I just played relaxed today. We're 1-3. I had nothing to lose. [Kitna] made some mistakes. I was in the right place, and I just held on to the ball."
The Steelers' defense has done a good job against two of its AFC North Division opponents in the past three weeks -- holding Cleveland to 144 yards passing and 13 first downs and making the Bengals look like, well, the Bengals.
The lapses came in a 32-29 loss in New Orleans last week, when the Steelers let the Saints score on their first four possessions and seven of eight overall. Worse, they allowed a 52-yard touchdown run by Deuce McAllister and a 64-yard pass to Jerome Pathon that set up another touchdown.
"The defense has played well two of the last three weeks," Cowher said. "Take away the two plays last week and they've been pretty solid. I know you can't take those plays away, but we eliminated the big plays today."
The Bengals didn't manage a play longer than 23 yards against the Steelers, and that came on a pass to wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the third quarter. Running back Corey Dillon, the fourth-leading rusher in the American Football Conference, had 57 yards on 17 carries. His longest run was 11 yards.
For a change, the Steelers forced the turnovers, getting four takeaways -- three interceptions and a fumble recovery by Hampton. In the first four games, the Steelers have produced just five takeaways (four interceptions, one fumble) -- tied for third fewest in the NFL.
"That's exactly what we need," said inside linebacker James Farrior. "It started last week in practice, and we all made a point to fly to the ball. When you have guys doing that, good things are going to happen."
They did for Bailey, a second-year defensive end who was playing 90 minutes from his alma mater, Ohio State. Despite being known as a pass-rush specialist who plays in passing situations, Bailey had only two sacks last season and none in four games this season.
But, against the Bengals, he was in on three of the five sacks on Kitna, sharing a sack with outside linebacker Clark Haggans.
"It wasn't anything complicated, just run by your guy, believe what you see and make something happen," Bailey said. "Pin your ears back and get to the ball."
The defense did that in various forms against the Bengals. It did so on a day when the offense and special teams also made big contributions.
Sure, it was against the Bengals, a team that is underachieving by even its own shameless standards. But the Steelers needed to put together a game in which all three of its teams contributed, just to remember what it feels like.
"The ball bounced our way today," Cowher said. "We're going to need that. We can't control what's behind us. We're fortunate we haven't fallen too far away the way we've played."
Gerry Dulac can be reached at gdulac@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1466.
Defense makes plays that spark offense 
E-mail this story 
