Proving a point
CINCINNATI – It was redemption Sunday for the Steelers at Paul Brown Stadium. And not just as a team.For embattled cornerback Ike Taylor and running back Jonathan Dwyer, a pair of big efforts couldn’t have come at a better time for the Steelers than in Sunday night’s 24-17 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.Taylor limited Pro Bowl receiver A.J. Green to just one catch for eight yards – though it went for a touchdown – while Dwyer had 17 carries for a career-high 122 yards in his first NFL start.For a pair of struggling players, it was just what they needed at just the right time for the Steelers, who evened their record at 3-3 with the win over the Bengals (3-4).”Dwyer did an excellent job of running the ball and getting those first downs. He did well,” said linebacker LaMarr Woodley. “Ike is a veteran guy. He went out here, going against a top receiver. We knew he was going to have him man-to-man. I think he responded well, by only allowing him to have one catch.”For Dwyer, it was a much-needed effort. He was inactive the previous two games after losing a critical fumble in a loss at Oakland.With Rashard Mendenhall out with a sore Achilles’ tendon and Isaac Redman sitting with an ankle sprain, the Steelers needed a big effort from Dwyer.”Two of my teammates and my brothers went down, but it was an opportunity, and the next man is supposed to step up,” said Dwyer. “As a unit, we wanted to fill that void. There’s no letdown, even though our two top guys went down. That was our main focus going into this game for all of us young guys to step up.”It was important for one of the old guys to step up as well.Taylor, a 10-year veteran, had been picked on consistently this season, culminating with a rough game in a loss at Tennessee last week in which he drew three penalties and allowed a touchdown.Taylor has regularly covered the opposing team’s top receiver over the past few years and followed Green, the NFL’s yardage leader entering the game, all over. He had plenty of help from his teammates, but with Taylor playing Green to a standstill, the Bengals struggled on offense in the second half.Cincinnati’s final five possessions resulted in 17 plays for 28 yards.”We’re brothers. We believe in him. I knew he’d have this laser-like focus,” said safety Ryan Clark, who went to head coach Mike Tomlin last week to make sure the plan was to continue to have Taylor match up against Green.”He did.”As a result, the Steelers not only got their first road win of the season, they got a much-needed victory in the AFC North.It also put them back in the mix in the muddled AFC playoff race, where only three teams have winning records and five teams – including the Steelers – are 3-3.”(This was a) big AFC North road victory for us. Guys did what was necessary,” said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. “Obviously we were down a few guys, and I liked the contribution from the men that stepped in their place; it was what was needed. Hopefully we can build upon it; it was what we talked about in (the locker room). We got ourselves into a hole. The first thing we’ve got to do is stop digging. We did that; now we’ve got to build on it.”Odds and end zonesSafety Will Allen suffered a sprained ankle, while linebacker Adrian Robinson suffered a head injury. … Dwyer now leads the Steelers with 192 yards rushing on 41 carries. … Placekicker Shaun Suisham made three field goals of more than 40 yards and is now 14 of 15 this season, with the only miss coming from 54 yards.