Bengals topple Steelers

— In five frenetic minutes, the Bengals earned some legitimacy and won back their town.

Carson Palmer's 4-yard touchdown pass to Andre Caldwell with 14 seconds left provided a 23-20 victory Sunday that ended the Pittsburgh Steelers' nearly decade-long domination in Cincinnati, one that appeared set to go on indefinitely until the final drive.

"Priceless," said Bengals offensive guard Bobbie Williams, a former Arkansas Razorback. "The past is the past. This is a new team and a new day."

For once, it was their day.

Pittsburgh (1-2) had won its last eight games on Cincinnati's home field. The last time the Bengals beat them at Paul Brown Stadium was 2001, when Chad Ochocinco was a rookie who rarely started and still went by the name of Johnson.

Ochocinco doesn't remember much from that long-ago game. The Bengals (2-1) won't soon forget this one.

The defending Super Bowl champs dominated most of the game but wasted chances to put the Bengals away. Jeff Reed missed another field goal, and Limas Sweed dropped a pass in the end zone, keeping it close to the end.

"If we score touchdowns in the first half, it's not even a game," Steelers receiver Hines Ward said. "It's 24-0 or 24-3. It's not very good. You've got to put up seven points instead of 3s. That's how you finish a team off."

Instead, the Bengals finished them off.

Palmer led the Bengals on a 16-play, 71-yard drive against one of the league's best defenses, repeatedly converting there-or-else throws. His 11-yarder to running back Brian Leonard on fourth and-10 moved the ball to the 4. Palmer spiked the ball to stop the clock, but he found Caldwell open in the middle of the end zone.

"We've got a quarterback who's comfortable at those points in the game," coach Marvin Lewis said. "He's got a calm about him."

Roethlisberger was 22 of 31 for 276 yards, including a 39-yard touchdown pass to Willie Parker and a 1-yard scoring sneak. He was sacked near midfield on a third-down play as Pittsburgh tried to protect a 20-15 lead, giving the Bengals one last chance with 5:14 to play.

All they needed.

"Indescribable," said Palmer, who was 20 of 37 for 183 yards. "The fans wanted it as much as we did, and it felt great to see those hands go up signaling a touchdown and hear them roar."

The Steelers hadn't started 1-2 since 2006, the last time they were coming off a Super Bowl win. They opened 1-3 that season and finished 8-8, missing out on the playoffs. With two consecutive last minute losses, the Steelers are again finding out how tough it is to be a defending champ.

"We feel like we beat ourselves," Roethlisberger said.

Sports, Pages 16 on 09/28/2009

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