It might not have been a concession speech, but it did sound like one. For a majority of the past twenty seasons the Bengals have been chasing the Steelers. It’s now turned around. It’s Pittsburgh this time that realizes it’s an uphill battle.

It’s clear they are the division’s best team, said Steelers safety Ryan Clark on Sunday after Cincinnati defeated Pittsburgh 18-12 and took control of their division, the AFC North. I would give up my left arm just to get a chance to play them one more time.

Who would have imagined the Super Bowl champs saying such a thing about a rival that they have in large part dominated and intimidated at times since the 1980s? Particularly with only seven games remaining in the season.

Cincinnati (7-2) was able to pull that off by defeating Pittsburgh (6-3) at their very own game and in their stadium, where the Steelers have won their last 10 games. They shut down the running game of Pittsburgh as well as Ben Roethlisberger, gave up just four Jeff Reed field goals, and were able to convert the only big play of a very tight game, a 96 kickoff return by Bernard Scott to score a touchdown.

Marvin Lewis, head coach of the Bengals said, I have never experienced a more grinding football game.

Pittsburgh was playing without Troy Polamalu, their star safety, for all except the opening series of the game. He aggravated his injured left knee that had sidelined him previously for four games. Polamalu had an MRI exam performed, but there wasn’t any word immediately regarding his status.

Whether they are going to have Polamalu the rest of the season or not, Pittsburgh realizes that they are in big trouble.

The Bengals with their sweep of the season series with Pittsburgh, the first since 1998, gives them effectively a two game lead over the Steelers due to the fact that they own a tiebreaker as well as a 5-0 record in their division for the very first time in history. By this time in the season they are usually playing for next season.

Chad Ochocinco said, it’s really refreshing to be where we are at this point in the season. We have a reason to play and it feels great.

Especially when it seemed that the Bengals were almost waiting for something bad to occur. They settled for four Shayne Graham field goals, following one deep drive after another not producing any touchdowns.

They also had to play the second half of the game without Cedric Benson, their star running back. However they still were able to find a way for following up on their September 27th 23-20 victory over Pittsburgh, and in the city where the Bengals have only won 13 times over the last 40 years. A majority of those wins came in the 1980s.

Graham said, it’s very hard to describe this feeling. You’ve been through this so many times, leaving the stadium, holding your head down after you’ve lost the game.

Cincinnati, with a dismal record last season of 4-11-1, has swept both Pittsburgh and Baltimore just one season after the two teams played in the AFC title game. They are 4-0 in their road games and have won seven out of their last eight games.

Kyle Cook, Bengals center said, we lost these types of games in the past.

For Pittsburgh, the defeat was very frustrating after winning five games in a row and scoring a minimum of 27 points in those games. If they had won the game they would be leading the division and controlling the momentum. Clark concedes that now they might be playing just to get a wild card spot unless Cincinnati collapses.

Deshea Townsend, cornerback said, we still need to find some way of getting into the playoffs. We have plenty of veterans to help us get there. We are chasing the Bengals. Hopefully we will see them once again.

Cincinnati was very Pittsburgh-like in a football game where the combined offense for the two teams was only 444 yards. They seemed to be copying from the playbook of Dick LeBeau, defensive master. Cincinnati didn’t allow Pittsburgh to convert on any of their last ten third downs and pressured Roethlisberger all day who was just 20 out of 40 passing for 174 yards and was sacked four times. They also contained Rashard Mendenhall who only rushed for 36 yards on 13 carries. In Denver the week before he rushed for 155 yards.

Mostly the Bengals didn’t allow the defense of the Steelers to dictate, despite them gaining only a total of 218 yards. They were even able to get away with botching up on an extra point for the second game in a row versus the Steelers.

The most critical drive of the game came late and lasted over four minutes, capped by a field goal of 43 yards by Graham. Earlier he hit field goals from the 23 yard line and the 32 yard line twice.

With just under two minutes left, Pittsburgh got the ball. However, Roethlisberger threw four incomplete passes in a row from the 33 yard line, and it was all over.

Roethlisberger said, something was just missing all day long. I am not sure what it was. There was something weird that day. May it was the warm weather for November. We didn’t make plays that we usually make.

Chad Ochocinco caught 2 passes for a total of 29 yards, while Carson Palmer went 18 for 30 for a total of 178 yards. Neither play really got going. However the Bengals didn’t have any turnovers. The Steelers had one, and it did make a difference.

On Pittsburgh’s first drive in the second half, Frostee Rucker intercepted a Roethlisberger pass and returned the ball to Pittsburgh’s 14 yard line. However, they played to the familiar script and only got a field goal from Graham.

This time, however, things were different. They didn’t settle by losing the game.