The Bengals' Giovani Bernard scores one of his two touchdowns Monday night in a win over the Steelers, 20-10. TOM UHLMAN / Associated Press
CINCINNATI - An elusive rookie made all the difference by darting through the Steelers' defense.
Running back Giovani Bernard scored his first two NFL touchdowns, one of them on a short pass that he turned into a 27-yard score, and the Cincinnati Bengals beat Pittsburgh 20-10 on Monday night, extending the Steelers' early misery.
The second-round draft pick had a 7-yard touchdown run in the first half before turning a short pass from Andy Dalton into a third-quarter score - a preview of what the Bengals (1-1) could become with a pass-catching threat out of the backfield.
First-round pick Tyler Eifert also had a big play, making a 61-yard catch that set up Bernard's touchdown run.
The Bengals piled up 407 yards on one of the NFL's toughest defenses, holding the ball for more than 35 minutes.
Pittsburgh fell to 0-2 for the first time since 2002, done in by another game of self-destruction on offense. The Steelers had two turnovers in scoring range and couldn't hold the ball long enough to give their defense a breather, failing to get a first down on seven of their 12 possessions.
It was a chance for the Bengals to show they've supplanted the Steelers in the AFC North. They beat Pittsburgh 13-10 at Heinz Field last December to reach the playoffs, and now have moved ahead of them again with a rare Monday night win.
Cincinnati is 10-20 in Monday night games.
Dalton had an up-and-down game, finishing 25 of 45 for 280 yards. He was one attempt shy of career high.
Bengals 20, Steelers 10
| Pittsburgh |
3 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
- |
10 |
| Cincinnati |
7 |
3 |
7 |
3 |
- |
20 |
First Quarter
Pit: FG Suisham 44, 10:42.
Cin: Bernard 7 run (Nugent kick), :57.
Second Quarter
Cin: FG Nugent 41, 13:16.
Pit: Moye 1 pass from Roethlisberger (Suisham kick), 1:54.
Third Quarter
Cin: Bernard 27 pass from Dalton (Nugent kick), 6:08.
Fourth Quarter
Cin: FG Nugent 25, 7:51.
A: 64,585.
| Pit | Cin |
| First downs | 14 | 22 |
| Total Net Yards | 278 | 407 |
| Rushes-yards | 16-44 | 34-127 |
| Passing | 234 | 280 |
| Punt Returns | 2-37 | 5-27 |
| Kickoff Returns | 2-54 | 1-17 |
| Interceptions Ret. | 0-0 | 1-0 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 20-37-1 | 25-45-0 |
| Sacked-Yards Lost | 2-17 | 0-0 |
| Punts | 7-46.6 | 7-46.6 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 1-1 | 0-0 |
| Penalties-Yards | 3-29 | 9-84 |
| Time of Possession | 24:26 | 35:34 |
Individual statistics
Rushing: Pittsburgh, F.Jones 10-37, Roethlisberger 1-6, Redman 3-4, Dwyer 1-2, Cotchery 1-(minus 5). Cincinnati, Green-Ellis 22-75, Bernard 8-38, Dalton 3-10, Sanu 1-4.
Passing: Pittsburgh, Roethlisberger 20-37-1-251. Cincinnati, Dalton 25-45-0-280.
Receiving: Pittsburgh, A.Brown 6-57, Sanders 5-78, Cotchery 3-59, Paulson 3-49, Redman 2-7, Moye 1-1. Cincinnati, Gresham 6-66, Green 6-41, Sanu 5-40, Eifert 3-66, M.Jones 3-35, Bernard 1-27, Green-Ellis 1-5.
Missed field goals: None.
Pro Football (NFL)
The Dallas Cowboys followed a big win over the New York Giants in the opener with a worrisome loss on the road - just like last year.
Rookie Bernard leads Bengals over Steelers, 20-10.
