CINCINNATI - In less than a month, Jerome Bettis has proved that he's more than just a goal-line specialist, someone limited to getting that one last yard.

One yard? Try 100 yards. Every single game.

He turned into a one-man posse Sunday, rescuing Pittsburgh Steelers rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in his worst game. Bettis ran for 129 yards in a 19-14 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals that kept the league's longest winning streak growing.

No one saw this coming.

The Steelers (9-1) appeared to be in a little trouble when Duce Staley pulled his hamstring, forcing the 32-year-old Bettis to assume a huge role overnight. With Roethlisberger still figuring things out, Bettis became his life preserver.

If Bettis can run, Roethlisberger can relax and do just enough to get by. The big question was whether The Bus had too many miles on him.

In the last three games, he's given them the answer: three 100-yard games that have been vintage Bettis.

"People always write me off every year going into the season," Bettis said. "That's fine. Actually, that's kind of fun because people have to eat crow."

Or worse.

The Bengals (4-6) did a good job of tormenting Roethlisberger, who finally looked like a rookie. He was already being compared to Terry Bradshaw after winning his first seven starts.

In his eighth, he got sacked seven times and repeatedly made poor decisions that cost the Steelers field position and scoring chances. He was 15-of-21 for 138 yards, but lost 54 yards on sacks. He also fumbled.

"On a lot of the sacks, I take the blame," Roethlisberger said. "I wasn't flustered, just disappointed in my play. But it's a sign of a good team when you can win when you don't play well."

Bettis kept the offense rolling just enough, and one of the league's nastiest defenses took it from there.

Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer threw a pair of touchdown passes for a 14-10 halftime lead - his 36-yarder to Chad Johnson gave the chatty receiver a chance to show off his celebration dance, just as promised.

"I did my celebration, right?" Johnson said. "Then the rest of the game went on."

In the second half, Johnson and company did nothing worthy of kicking up the cleats. The Bengals managed only 42 yards and two first downs against a blitzing defense that got them rattled.

Cincinnati had seven penalties for 75 yards in the second half alone, causing coach Marvin Lewis to rant and rave in the locker room afterward. Reporters could hear him screaming through closed doors - quite out of character.

"This is the angriest I've been," said Lewis, who has spent his first two seasons in Cincinnati trying to accentuate the positive. "We're not going to accept mediocrity."

No such problems in Pittsburgh, where the comparisons with great teams of the past are becoming unavoidable.

The Steelers are 9-1 for the first time since 1978, when they won their third Super Bowl in five years. They've won eight in a row for the first time since 1995, when they went to the Super Bowl.

They beat the NFL's best teams two weeks in a row, knocking off New England and Philadelphia at home. Then they went to Cleveland and Cincinnati - two tough places to win - and kept rolling even when they weren't at their best.

"We did things that were uncharacteristic of this team, but we still found a way to win," coach Bill Cowher said. "That's the sign of a good team."

Notes:

Steelers WR Plaxico Burress pulled

his

left hamstring in the second quarter. Cowher wouldn't speculate on whether he'll be sidelined. ... LB Kendrell Bell aggravated a groin injury. "It could be a few weeks," Cowher said. ... DE Brett Keisel also hurt his hamstring. … Bettis moved ahead of Tony Dorsett for fifth on the career list. It was his 57th career 100-yard game and his 11th against Cincinnati.