NEW YORK, 23 November 2004 — Jerome Bettis ran for 129 yards and the Pittsburgh Steelers used a stifling defense to edge the hosts Cincinnati Bengals 19-14 for their eighth straight win Sunday.
The Steelers struggled in the first half but still improved to 9-1, the team’s best start since 1978, when Pittsburgh won the third of its five Super Bowl titles. Rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger remained unbeaten, winning for the eight straight time as a starter, but he struggled most of the game and was sacked seven times. Bettis picked up the slack on offense, however, recording his 11th 100-yard rushing performance while moving past Tony Dorsett into fifth place on the all-time rushing list.
Bengals led 14-10 at the half on touchdown passes from Carson Palmer to Chad Johnson and Kelley Washington, but the Steelers went ahead for good on an eight-yard TD pass from Roethlisberger to Dan Kreider late in the third quarter.
Roethlisberger went 15-for-21 for just 138 yards and a touchdown but lost 54 yards on the sacks and also fumbled. Palmer also had trouble with the Pittsburgh defense, going for 13-for-23 for 165 yards and two touchdowns.
In Seattle, Michael Boulware returned a 63-yard interception late in the fourth quarter to give the Seahawks a 24-17 victory over the Miami Dolphins.
In Philadelphia, Donovan McNabb threw for 222 yards and four touchdowns to power the Eagles to a 28-6 rout of the Washington Redskins. Brian Westbrook hauled in two fourth-quarter touchdown passes to help the Eagles improve to 5-0 at home.
In Oakland, LaDainian Tomlinson ran for 164 yards and scored the game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter as the San Diego Chargers overcame the Raiders 23-17.
In New York, Alge Crumpler notched two first-half touchdowns to guide the Atlanta Falcons past the Giants 14-10. Michael Vick threw for 115 yards, including both touchdowns, and rushed for 104 yards.
In Jacksonville, Steve McNair returned to the line-up to throw for 209 yards and a touchdown as the Tennessee Titans defeated the Jaguars 18-15. Antowain Smith scored the go-ahead TD on a one-yard run to put the Titans ahead for good and rushed for 95 yards for Tennessee (4-6).
In Cleveland, Quincy Carter threw an 11-yard TD pass to Justin McCareins late in the fourth quarter to give the New York Jets a 10-7 win over the Cleveland Browns. Curtis Martin was injured slightly in the second half but still rushed for 88 yards on 17 carries to go over the 1,000-yard mark for the season for the 10th straight year.
In Houston, Ryan Longwell booted two fourth-quarter field goals, including a 47-yarder on the final play of the game, as the Green Bay Packers recorded a come-from-behind 16-13 win over the Texans.
In other games, Baltimore routed Dallas 30-10, Tampa Bay destroyed San Francisco 35-3, Denver easily stopped New Orleans 34-13, Minnesota edged Detroit 22-19, Indianapolis ripped Chicago 41-10, Carolina defeated Arizona 35-10 and Buffalo beat St. Louis 37-17.
