Willie Parker runs against the Cincinnati Bengals in the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 28, 2007, in Cincinnati. Parker scored one touchdown and ran for 126 yards in the game won by the Steelers, 24-13.

Last week in Denver the Steelers defense played a game they likely would want to forget. Today in Cincy, they came back to life and took back control of the division with the defense leading the way. Using three long first half drives, the Steelers beat the Bengals 24-13 to improve to 5-2. The Steelers offense scored touchdowns on three straight possessions in the first half, and built a 21-6 halftime lead to take the air out of Paul Brown Stadium. After Cincy pulled to 21-13 in the second half, the Steelers scored on a 40-yard Jeff Reed field goal to put them up by 11 to seal the win.

Pittsburgh on offense was well balanced, using the running of Willie Parker, who went for 126 yards on 22 carries. He paced the Steelers running game that went for 160 yards on 33 carries, averaging 4.8 yards per carry. Ben Roethlisberger made one mistake, throwing a pick in the red zone, but otherwise made plays all day, going 19-for-26 for 230 yards and two scores. Hines Ward caught two touchdowns and ended with 8 catches for 88 yards. Santonio Holmes caught 6 balls for 87 yards.

The Steelers put the game away, trailing 3-0 with three long drives, all ending in touchdowns starting with a 5-play, 80-yard drive late in the first quarter. They then scored on a 12-play, 80-yard drive that covered 7+ minutes to make it 14-3, then after Cincy scored another field goal to make it 14-6, they drove 67 yards in 9 plays to go up 21-6 on Parker’s short TD run with :06 left in the first half.

The Steelers now are up three games on the Bengals in the AFC North, they now await AFC North test number two, as they await a Monday night meeting with the second place Ravens on November 5th.