Bengals Batter, Bloody Stunned Steelers

PITTSBURGH -- When you go to a Pittsburgh Steelers game, you absorb the vibe. You live it. You expect a day of face-stomping, mouth-smashing and butt-kicking, and you walk away with the satisfying feeling that you've just beaten someone up. It's all about identity.

So it was a little disturbing to see 65,000 people leave Heinz Field Sunday all limping, hunched over, bleeding and holding their arms to their sides. The Steelers are supposed to be the team providing the stomping, smashing and kicking, not the face, the mouth and the butt.

And the last team you would expect to be pummeling the defending Super Bowl champs? Not just beating them, but pounding them? The Cincinnati Bengals.

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But that's what happened, as the Bengals won 18-12 Sunday -- a game that looked like it was played in black and white, the way old-timers say it should be played.

"That was the most physical, grinding football game I've ever been on the sideline to experience,'' Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said. "Our guys did a good job of grinding blow for blow, back and forth.''

This was a big moment for the Bengals, who were already tied for first with the Steelers, and had already beaten them this year. Pittsburgh is the measuring stick for the Bengals, the rival that gets everything, wins in the end. The Bengals are the the little brother always trying to catch up. It's their identity.

Now, they're 7-2 and are going to win this division.

And confirmation is not just about this year, but also about an organization that just a few years ago was the most dysfunctional, most embarrassing in the NFL.

What is the Bengals' identity? It's not easy to just get past all those arrests from a couple years ago. They brought back Chris Henry, who had a bunch of those arrests. And they brought in Cedric Benson and Tank Johnson, who had had their own troubles with the law before arriving.

So I don't know if they just got rid of enough problem players, or if some of them grew up or what.

But the Bengals have been losers for years, patsies to the Steelers, threats to society. And a year like this, a game like this, a moment like this can start to redefine them.

"It's not changing yet; it's not,'' said Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco, whose over-the-top, look-at-me show strikes me more as a good time than anything. "We've got to keep going. The name [Bengals] does not ring a bell the way it should.''

And what does this do to the Steelers and their identity?

Nothing.

Their identity is not based on the Bengals. To them, the Bengals are more of a welcome mat.

And last week, the Steelers looked fantastic at Denver, as if they are about to repeat. They have mixed in a running game with Rashard Mendenhall, who apparently has gotten around to learning the playbook. The defense was together with strong safety Troy Polamalu, who left this Sunday's game early after hurting his left knee again. That could be a big problem; an MRI is coming.

And of course, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is always ready to do his best in the toughest moments, winning games with last-minute heroics.

The Steelers are still in position to do big things. But this day was about the Bengals.

Imagine this: Just under 2 minutes left. Cincinnati up 6. Pittsburgh gets the ball at its 33.

You just know what's going to happen, right, Bengals fans? Roethlisberger drives down for the win, right?

Zero. That's how many yards that drive went. Roethlisberger threw four incomplete passes, under pressure on two of them, and that was it.

The Bengals have a tough defense, a mean line and glue for cornerbacks. Lewis is getting through to the them about identity. You could hear it in the words of quarterback Carson Palmer.

"It's about field position,'' he said. "At the end of the day, it's better to take the check down and dink the ball down the field ...

"We don't go into a game saying we have to score 35. We've done that in the past.''

The Bengals did not score one offensive touchdown Sunday. This out-of-control, free-spirited offensive mindset was gone. The game's only touchdown came on rookie Bernard Scott's 96-yard kickoff return.

On top of that, the Bengals played most of the game without Benson, who has been among the league's leading rushers all year. He hurt his hip in what's thought to be a minor injury.

Roethlisberger was sacked four times and the Steelers' running game was held to just 80 yards.

"Physical,'' Palmer said. "If there's one word you're going to describe us with, it's physical.''

Trying to define that identity, Palmer said the Bengals aren't ready to win a Super Bowl or have a dominant playoff run. But they have a real opportunity here. They thought they had one in 2005, when they won the division behind a young Palmer. That still stands as their only winning season since 1990.

Then they went to the playoffs and Palmer hurt his knee. Guess who they were playing, which team ruined everything?

The Steelers, of course. And the moment was gone.

Now, they have another shot, though nine games aren't enough to change everything. Palmer noted that "we don't ever play on national television.''

Well, stomping, smashing and kicking in a game, as opposed to on the streets in society, is a good start.

Email me at gregcouch09@aol.com