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CINCINNATI — What is it about Cincinnati that brings out the best in Ben Roethlisberger?

"I think it's the hostility," he said. "Bengal fans are very good fans. They are always yelling and screaming at us."

Pittsburgh's quarterback was brilliant in the Steelers' 24-13 victory on Sunday, completing 19 of 26 passes for 230 yards, two TDs and a passer rating of 109.5.

Roethlisberger showed pinpoint accuracy when he was flushed out of the pocket. Many of his throws were made under duress.

"We're all getting comfortable with expecting those kind of plays from him," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "He is tremendously talented and very smart — a great decision-maker when plays break down."

Only one mistake

Roethlisberger's only mistake was an errant throw in the red zone that cornerback Deltha O'Neal intercepted at 6:09 of the third quarter.

The Bengals finished a 17-play, 88-yard drive with Carson Palmer's 9-yard pass to T.J. Houshmandzadeh for their only TD.

"We caught Roethlisberger scrambling," O'Neal said. "He was trying to force the issue. We got great pressure on him with our D-line and linebackers. I just stepped in the way to make a play. We needed it because they were driving the ball. We needed that stop just to get our offense back on the field."

The difference

Pittsburgh scored TDs on three of its four trips inside the Bengals' 20-yard line. The Bengals also had four red-zone possessions that resulted in two field goals, a TD and fumble.

"Against a team that's rolling like (the Steelers) were on offense, you can't kick field goals," Palmer said. "You need to put up seven points. We didn't do a good enough job executing in the red zone."

Injury report

Kenny Watson received an accidental blow to the head from Levi Jones' knee, defensive tackle John Thornton suffered a sprained shoulder and Glenn Holt sustained a mild concussion on his final kickoff return, a 33 yarder with

6:01 to go.

Steelers safety Anthony Smith "pulled me down. I hit my head and was a little dizzy," Holt said. "They're a very physical team. Every ball you catch, you know you're going to get hit hard."

Quick hitters

• The Steelers' long scoring drives — 80, 80, 67 and 48 yards — shortened the game, making it a 2-hour, 48-minute affair. Each team had only seven offensive possessions.

• Bengals linebacker Landon Johnson whiffed on a tackle against tailback Carey Davis, who gained five yards to keep the Steelers' second drive alive.

"I did have him up high," Johnson said. "He just bent and twisted, and I wasn't able to hold onto him."

• Shayne Graham has converted all 10 of his field-goal attempts in the last six games.

Quote machine

"Nothing is over. Unfortunately, we're in this situation. It looks uphill. We're not overmatched by any stretch of the imagination. We've got to find a way to band together and not allow people to pull it apart." — Marvin Lewis

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