PITTSBURGH — Samaje Perine caught three touchdown passes and practice squad call-up Trent Irwin hauled in his first career score as the Cincinnati Bengals defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 37-30 on Sunday.
Perine's three score performance set a franchise record by being the most touchdown receptions in a single game by a Cincinnati running back.
Joe Burrow got revenge on a Steelers team that pummeled and harassed him during their upset win back in September. The Cincinnati quarterback finished the game completing 24 of 39 passes for 355 yards and four touchdowns with two interceptions.
The Bengals (6-4) have won four of five following a 2/3 start, topping 30 points in all four wins, the last two despite Chase sitting out while recovering from a hip injury.
The Bengals piled up 408 yards of total offense and put together touchdown drives of 79, 92 and 93 yards to beat the Steelers (3-7) for the fourth time in five meetings.
Joe Mixon had to exit the game as he went into the NFL's concussion protocol.
Perine stepped in and the Bengals offense didn't miss a beat, as he recorded touchdowns of 29, 11 and 6 yards, the final score with Steelers defensive back Levi Wallace on Perine's back that gave the Bengals a 34-23 lead with 4:30 left in the game.
Pittsburgh (3-7) couldn't recreate their Week 1 magic, when they upset the Bengals, as they watched their 20-17 halftime lead slipped away. The Steelers could only muster 52 total yards on their first six possessions of the second half and only scored three points when given two short fields to start drives.
A key moment came when the Steelers got the ball at the Cincinnati 47 and trailing by four early in the fourth quarter.
A 13-yard run by Najee Harris on first down gave Pittsburgh the ball at the Bengals 34 before things fell apart. A holding call and an illegal man downfield penalty on consecutive plays put the Steelers back 15 yards. Two incompletions and a draw play to Harris stalled the drive and forced a punt.
Cincinnati took possession at its own 7 and moved down the field in just eight plays to reach the end zone. Burrow completed four passes on the drive, including a 32-yard catch-and-run by Irwin.
The drive would be capped off as Burrow tossed a 6-yard scoring pass to Perine to make the score 34-23 and pretty much put the game out of reach of a Pittsburgh comeback.
Rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett passed for 265 yards and a touchdown and Harris ran for 90 yards and two scores.
Cincinnati (6-4) has now won four of five after beginning the season with a 2-3 record. The offense has also had no trouble scoring, as they've tallied at least 30 points in all four wins, and doing so while Ja'Marr Chase has been out recovering from a hip injury the past two games.
Bengals head to Nashville next Sunday to face the AFC South-leading Tennessee Titans (7-3).
Cincinnati 10 7 10 10 = 37
Pittsburgh 3 17 3 7 = 30
First Quarter CIN—Evan McPherson 45 field goal, 8:54. PIT—Matthew Wright 42 field goal, 4:37. CIN—Samaje Perine 29 pass from Joe Burrow (Evan McPherson kick), 0:39. Second Quarter PIT—Najee Harris 19 run (Matthew Wright kick), 12:58. CIN—Samaje Perine 11 pass from Joe Burrow (Evan McPherson kick), 6:38. PIT—George Pickens 24 pass from Kenny Pickett (Matthew Wright kick), 1:47. PIT—Matthew Wright 30 field goal, 0:00. Third Quarter CIN—Trenton Irwin 1 pass from Joe Burrow (Evan McPherson kick), 7:02. PIT—Matthew Wright 34 field goal, 4:28. CIN—Evan McPherson 54 field goal, 0:31. Fourth Quarter CIN—Samaje Perine 6 pass from Joe Burrow (Evan McPherson kick), 4:30. CIN—Evan McPherson 44 field goal, 3:18. PIT—Najee Harris 1 run (Matthew Wright kick), 0:45.
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