PITTSBURGH _ For what amounted to three quarters, Sunday's Gales of November game between the dangerous Bengals and first-place Steelers pitched and yawed with the classics.

As a 20-mile-per-hour breeze came off the three rivers that gusted faster at times, it looked like the Bengals defense had stepped up just in time to turn it into a field goal derby and were going to cut the Steelers lead to a game with seven to play.

Like the War of 18-12, the Bengals won here 16 years to the day, when there was no wind, just blood. Or the 13-10 game the Bengals won with a field goal here in 2012 in a December freeze. Or even the 2020 game at Paycor Stadium, when the Bengals stunned the first-place Steelers just before Christmas with a third-string quarterback.

Joe Flacco, no third-stringer but one of history's hottest backups, appeared poised to give the Bengals the lead for the first time as the third quarter rolled into the fourth with the Steelers clinging to a 13-9 lead against the Bengals' simmering offense that has led the NFL the past month.

But then the Steelers do what they do: Turn the game with a turnover in the time it takes the wind to change. What did the man write 50 years ago? The big lake never gives up its dead when the gales of November come early?

Neither do the Steelers on the rivers after a second-half turnover, it seems.

"I think ultimately the score is not indicative of how the game played through the first three quarters, but it is what it is," said Bengals head coach Zac Taylor. "They did the things you got to do to win and so they got a chance to run away with it."

On third-and-nine from the Pittsburgh 35, Flacco got hit by T.J. Watt, who showed up three times all day. Which is why he gets paid the NFL's biggest defensive paycheck.

Flacco's pass fell short to wide receiver Tee Higgins over the middle of the field. Safety Kyle Dugger, who has been a Steeler for a shorter time Flacco has been a Bengal (18 days to 40 days) caught it in front of Higgins and raced 73 yards to make it 20-9 with 37 seconds left in the third quarter.

Then they rode the wave in no particular order.

Taylor sounded as if he wished he had a fourth-and-one back where they tried to get an offsides and instead had to take a timeout. Flacco got sacked for the only time day. NFL villain Jalen Ramsey sucked up some more air getting thrown out of the game after two altercations with Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase. Resident Bengal killer Mason Rudolph converted a third-and-11 and first-and-23 with what amounted to his vintage two-yard flips to the running back. Their cornerbacks, who played extremely well Sunday, Brandin Echols and James Pierre, combined for another defensive score.

A total of 21 points in basically 13 minutes. It may have happened quickly, but the Bengals knew all week that's exactly what they had to avoid here. Taylor called it preventing them from getting into a rhythm.

"Four or five plays," said left tackle Orlando Brown Jr., after his 13^th game against the Steelers. "A division game on the road. An AFC North game on the road."

Bengals safety Geno Stone, the former Raven who grew up down the road in New Castle and saw his first NFL game as a little guy in this building during the playoffs, knows how the Steelers play it this time of year. After his defense played its best game since they played Flacco in the opener in Cleveland, there's a sense they have found their sea legs for the stretch.

But it wasn't enough Sunday.

"Being in the AFC North for a while, all these games when you come to Pittsburgh play out the same way," Stone said. "They rely on their defense, let their offense run the ball, and keep conservative. That's kind of how it is. It's been like that since I've grown up. We know what type of game it was going to be with them, but we didn't execute like we had to."

The Bengals knew they would have to get the yard Pittsburgh would get and make the tackles Pittsburgh would make.

"They did the things you need to do to win these games in the AFC North, November and December football. They did it," Taylor said. "They tackled better, they won the turnover battle 2-0, and that's the recipe for success."

The Steelers also did what the Bengals expected and changed it up on Chase. Last month, Chase dominated the Steelers with a Bengals-record 16 catches on 23 targets. Flacco went at him 10 times Sunday, but got just three catches for 30 yards. More two-high safeties, Chase said. Not the one-high look of last month, before the Dugger trade and the switch of Ramsey from cornerback to safety.

Chase saluted a running game "that tried to run them out of two-high." Running back Chase Brown answered the bell and rushed for 64 yards in the second half on 10 carries, setting the tone with two big carries on the first drive of the second half.

"When it was time for us to pass the ball," Ja'Marr Chase said, "we weren't getting our best look."

Flacco could have used any excuse for his worst passing day as a Bengal (23 of 40 for 199 yards and a 68.6 passer rating), but the man is too classy and wise at age 40 and 18 years into this thing.

On the second drive of the game, Watt body slammed Flacco into the turf as he threw the ball away. Right smack on his injured AC joint that has limited him to one practice a week. The full body on a body part earned Watt a roughing penalty. But Flacco gave props to Watt and said he felt fine all day. He could have used the wind, too. He said he had never seen the wind here like it was Sunday. But he said he didn't think it was "a huge factor."

After his 15^th game here, he knew what was.

"Even though this looks really bad, it's one of those typical games that you come play in here. All of a sudden, it breaks loose and goes the other way." Flacco said. "But you felt it today. It was a hard, physical game. You knew they were going to make it tough for us, and we just didn't come through in those couple little moments.

"We weren't able to wait, wait, wait, wait, and strike. We made mistakes, and they capitalized."

Those little moments were turnovers. The Bengals defense hasn't had one since DJ Turner II's robbery of the Steelers' DK Metcalf last month.

"That's kind where the game took off," said Bengals captain and defensive tackle B.J. Hill. "They created two turnovers and we didn't. We have to do better on our side and give the ball to our offense."

And yet this was a 7-6 game late in the first half. Very much a defensive game as the Bengals befuddled Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers before driving him out with a left wrist injury.

The Bengals believe this can be a turning point for a defense that came in here and gave Pittsburgh just 13 points after the opening drive in the wake of allowing 86 in the two games before. The offense that has been scoring 32 points per game under Flacco had more than a shot to get the lead.

"It was there at halftime," Ja'Marr Chase said.

The defense didn't let the Steelers take control with the run, and gave them that shot. After popping a 35-yarder in that first drive, running back Jaylen Warren had 27 yards on his nine other carries. Pittsburgh had just four yards per carry, which is exactly what you have to do to beat them.

But the Bengals missed too many tackles on those third-and-sixes to spoil their effort.

"I felt like we stopped the run better. It wasn't like it was for the last two weeks for sure," Stone said. "We took a positive step."

When Rudolph came off the bench, it was a different look.

"We adjusted after the first drive. We knew when Mason came in, it was going to be different type of style. Limited. They weren't going to put a lot on his plate. We only had limited action, but we can't allow them to score … we have to be better tackling … It's the one-on-ones."

Flacco knew the defense gave them a shot.

"I thought they did a lot of good things today," Flacco said. "It's just a shame the way that when we're kind of not matching each other right now and playing both sides as well as we can at the same time."

The Steelers had snatched one as quick as the wind. Ja'Marr Chase, the NFL's leading receiver, lingered on the field after it was over at the end of a day the defense looked ready to complement the offense.

"I was soaking in the moment," said Chase, his eye turning to the last seven games. "I don't like to lose, so I was soaking in the moment how we lost."