Steelers vs. Bengals: Pittsburgh Grades, Notes and Quotes

Well, that turned out well for the men in black and gold.

The Pittsburgh Steelers picked up a big 33-20 win Sunday over the AFC North-leading Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium behind three interceptions from the defense and two rushing touchdowns from DeAngelo Williams.

Unfortunately for Cincinnati, the Bengals likely lost quarterback Andy Dalton for the rest of the season due to a thumb injury after tackling Stephon Tuitt following an interception in the red zone, according to ESPN.com's Coley Harvey.

Although the Bengals played well under backup quarterback AJ McCarron, outgaining the Steelers in the game, Cincinnati was unable to mount a comeback, as the Steelers kicked four field goals, received two rushing touchdowns from Williams and got a pick-six from William Gay.

Ben Roethlisberger threw for 282 yards on 30-for-39 passing but didn't throw a touchdown pass in the game, while he also failed to throw for 300 or more yards for the first time in weeks.

Williams rushed for just 76 yards on 23 carries, while Antonio Brown (7-for-87), Martavis Bryant (7-for-49), Markus Wheaton (4-for-65) and Heath Miller (10-for-66) had strong days through the air in the win.

Along with Gay's pick-six, Tuitt and Robert Golden recorded interceptions, while Cam Heyward recorded a sack. Vince Williams, Steve McLendon and Will Allen recorded half-sacks against Cincinnati as well.

This was a game that the Steelers had to win, and they came up with a great showing on the road against a division rival.

Now just two games behind in the AFC North race, winning the division title is now a real possibility with Cincy's potential loss of Dalton for the year.

Position Grades for Pittsburgh

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Quarterback:  B

Ben Roethlisberger started out on fire, going 8-for-8 early in the first quarter while leading the Steelers to a 13-0 lead. However, the veteran quarterback's play fell off throughout the game, as he missed some throws and threw a poor interception to Reggie Nelson that was essentially a long punt.

Roethlisberger didn't find the end zone in the win, marking the first time in recent memory he hasn't thrown a touchdown pass in a Steelers win.

Running Back:  B+

For the third time this season, DeAngelo Williams turned in a multi-touchdown performance, rushing for two one-yard touchdowns in Sunday's win.

Although he averaged just 3.3 yards per carry Sunday, Williams ran extremely hard and refused to go down on first contact. Behind the offensive line, the Steelers were able to get a solid ground game going against a tough Bengals front seven.

Wide Receivers:  A

Despite not putting up eye-popping numbers against a hobbled Bengals secondary, the Steelers' receiving corps was very effective and consistent Sunday, as the Steelers were able to march the ball up and down the field.

Antonio Brown repeatedly won one-on-one matchups, allowing him to get open in the middle of the field, while Markus Wheaton took advantage of rookie cornerback Josh Shaw.

Martavis Bryant nearly took a screen pass to the house, showing great patience and vision.

Tight End:  A+

Much like James Harrison last week, Heath Miller turned in a throwback performance for the second time this season against the Bengals.

For the second time this year against Cincy, Miller hauled in 10 passes while exploiting the middle of the field repeatedly against linebackers Vontaze Burfict and Vincent Rey.

Miller continues to serve as a security blanket for Roethlisberger.

Offensive Line:  B

Despite allowing two sacks to the Bengals, the Steelers' offensive line turned in a solid performance in both phases of the game.

In the running game, David DeCastro and Alejandro Villanueva proved to be quite the pulling tandem, opening up nice holes for Williams while also showing some serious physicality in a very chippy game.

Cody Wallace, Ramon Foster and DeCastro also did a great job of shutting down Domata Peko and Geno Atkins.

Defensive Line:  B

That's much more like it.

Cam Heyward, Stephon Tuitt and Steve McLendon returned to their disruptive, dominant ways as they helped shut down the Bengals rushing attack, put pressure on the quarterback and even picked off one pass in the win.

Heyward recorded the sack in the red zone against AJ McCarron, while Tuitt picked off Andy Dalton in the red zone in the first quarter.

McLendon also recorded a half-sack in the win, as the defensive line had a strong showing.

Linebackers:  B-

Lawrence Timmons, Ryan Shazier and Vince Williams turned in very strong performances, combining for 20 tackles and a half-sack (Williams).

Timmons and Shazier were very strong against the run, as was Williams, who played in just 12 of 58 defensive snaps.

Outside of the ILBs, James Harrison, Arthur Moats, Bud Dupree and Jarvis Jones had relatively quiet afternoons. Harrison was the only one to record a quarterback hit (two) in the win. Dupree did have to leave the game early with a lower-back issue, according to Steelers Depot.

The pass rush off the edge will have to get much better next week against Denver.

Defensive Backs: C

Outside a strong showing from William Gay, which included a pick-six to start the second half, the Steelers secondary struggled with tackling and coverage.

Antwon Blake was burned by AJ Green on a double move for a 66-yard touchdown that included a missed tackle from Blake and Mike Mitchell, allowing Green to walk into the end zone.

Mitchell has turned in consecutive "meh" games and took a bad personal-foul penalty in the first quarter that allowed the Bengals to pick up a big chunk of yardage.

Will Allen was relatively quiet outside of a half-sack with Steve McLendon in the second half, while Ross Cockrell turned in a decent performance alongside Gay.

Special Teams:  A+

What an outstanding performance by the Steelers special teams in a must-win game.

Chris Boswell drilled four field goals to pace the Steelers offense, while punter Jordan Berry pinned the Bengals deep in their own end in the second quarter before booming a 53-yard punt later in the game.

Kick coverage was again outstanding, as the Bengals' average starting field position was their own 21-yard line.

Brown Eclipses 100 Catches Again

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For the third straight year, Antonio Brown has recorded 100 catches in a season, becoming the first Steeler receiver to ever accomplish that.

With seven catches for 87 yards in the win, Brown was as dangerous as ever, using great route running and terrific footwork to get open against a hobbled Bengals secondary.

Brown is arguably the best receiver in football and continues to prove that each and every week, despite facing double coverage nearly every game.

Williams Records Third Multi-Touchdown Game of Season

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For the third time this season, DeAngelo Williams recorded a multi-touchdown game while helping the Steelers to stay alive in the AFC playoff picture.

In just seven starts this season, Williams has scored eight rushing touchdowns. That mark is just one behind Rashard Mendenhall's nine in 2011, the most rushing touchdowns in a season for the Steelers in the years since.

With three games to go, Williams could easily reach double-digit rushing TDs.

December Friendly to Pittsburgh

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With the win over Cincinnati, the Steelers extended their winning streak in December to nine games, tying an NFL record for most consecutive wins in a month, according to Steelers PR/media manager Dom Rinelli.

Not bad for a team that led by Mike Tomlin, who once told reporters that the Steelers would "unleash hell" in December but subsequently fell flat on his face in the biggest game of year against Baltimore the day before Christmas.

Roethlisberger on Heath Miller

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There are some people you count on day in and day out.

For the Steelers—especially Roethlisberger—that's Heath Miller, the one guy who is relied on the most in both phases of the offense.

Following Miller's second 10-catch performance against the Bengals in 2015, Big Ben told reporters that Miller is arguably the best teammate he's had.

There's a lot to be said for having great chemistry with a receiver. That's exactly what Roethlisberger and Miller have together. They're tough to stop when they're firing on all cylinders. It's been that way for quite some time.