Cincinnati – Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton, who played for the Steelers for his first four years, got his first pick-6 at any level of football against his former team late in the first half on Sunday.
Hilton’s interception of Ben Roethlisberger put Cincinnati 31-3 up and appears to serve as a symbolic turning point in the Steelers’ long-time dominance of the Bengals and AFC North.
“To do this against those guys in a big division game, it couldn’t get any sweeter,” Hilton said as his teammates shouted and the music thumped in the locker room next door.
A 41-10 victory by the Bengals (7-4) on Sunday made the Steelers’ first season sweep of Cincinnati since 2009 after a double-digit win in September.
The series broke a 21-game winning streak by Pittsburgh in a 27-17 upset by the Bengals last December.
Hilton, who signed with Cincinnati as a free agent prior to the season, said, “Beating these guys twice and some others three times straight is a big change of guard in our opinion.” “It’s given us a lot of confidence, and people are excited to see how the rest of the season plays out.”
Joe Mixon raced for a career-high 165 yards and two touchdowns, which Burrow scrambled for one score and passed for another as the Bengals crushed the Steelers (5-5-1) and got them on their way. Was denied victory in the last three matches.
And the Bengals stamped themselves as a legitimate playoff contender.
Mixon, coming off a 123-yard, two-TD performance in last week’s win over Las Vegas, had 117 yards in the first half.
“To be honest, I think I’m starting to reach that point, my prime, like it’s starting to get there,” said Mixon, who was slowed down by a leg injury last season. “I know what kind of pace the defense comes with, I know how to slow down the game. All it takes for me to make plays is with my teammates.”
Cincinnati scored on her first four drives, and then Hilton jumped James Washington’s route and ran him 24 yards behind for a touchdown, with 30 seconds left in the half.
“It was a big moment, it was an emotional moment,” said Bengals coach Zack Taylor. “To turn the mic around and go the other way with it really inspired us to do what we wanted to do for the rest of the day.”
The Bengals’ defense kept Roethlisberger from gaining any real traction until it was too late. He was picked twice and sacked three times, finishing with 263 yards. His 15-yard TD pass to Pat Freiremuth came late in the game.
“There’s not much to say,” Roethlisberger said. “You kick your butt – it happens. These things happen.”
Burrow scored 20 for 24 for 190 yards, threw a 32 yard touchdown pass to Tee Higgins, and dived for an 8-yard TD to open the scoring for the Bengals in the first quarter.
Higgins had six catches for 114 yards and a TD.
“I felt like we were rolling all day,” Burrow said.
Big deal
Burrow said it’s good to flip the script on Pittsburgh, but he’s not paying attention to it.
“We’re 2-0 up against them, but we’ve got higher aspirations than just beating the Steelers right now,” said the second-year quarterback.
“Actually, the way I see it now, 3-1 (in the division, that’s the position we wanted to be in,” Taylor said. “It’s not about dominating anybody.”
He said
“We have a lot of work ahead of us,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. “We don’t make excuses. We don’t see any comfort. That’s it – we stunk it today.”
Injuries
Steelers: LB Robert Spillane suffered a knee injury and did not return. … CB Joe Hayden (ft) was out. … OL J.C. Hassenauer (pectoral) and TE Eric Ebron (knee) were placed on injured reserve on Saturday.
Bengals: OL Riley Reif suffered an ankle injury in the third quarter. … ol’ Trey Hopkins walked into the third quarter with an ankle injury.
Next
Steelers: Host Baltimore next Sunday.
Bengals: Host the Los Angeles Chargers next Sunday.