Roethlisberger leads Steelers to victory over Bengals

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Ben Roethlisberger passed for 243 yards to lead the Steelers to a 27-10 win over division rivals the Cincinnati Bengals in snowy Pittsburgh conditions on Thursday.

Roethlisberger, playing through a shoulder injury he sustained two weeks ago, threw for a touchdown and ran for another.

"I have to give my offensive line a lot of credit. They picked up a lot of blitzes and we looked pretty good on offense," Roethlisberger told reporters. "We knew we had to get in the end zone and get six today."

The AFC North-leading Steelers (8-3) started sluggishly and fell 7-0 behind before scoring 20 unanswered points and relying on their stout defense.

Tight end Heath Miller caught a 10-yard score to get Pittsburgh on the board with 10:16 left in the second quarter, Jeff Reed added two field goals and Gary Russell plunged into the end zone from two yards to give the Steelers a 20-7 lead late in the third.

"It was a short week and a lot of guys didn't really get a chance to practice," said Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward. "When we finally scored we got into a rhythm and got things going."

The Bengals struggled against Pittsburgh's vaunted defense and finished with 211 total yards as they fell to 1-9 for the season.

Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick completed 20-of-37 passes for 168 yards with one TD and one interception.

He drove Cincinnati down to the Steelers' 8-yard line midway through the fourth, but the Bengals had to settle for a field goal, and Roethlisberger answered with an 8-yard TD run on the Steelers' next possession.

Cincinnati was playing without vocal wide receiver Chad Johnson who was deactivated for violating an unspecified team rule.

(Reporting by Jahmal Corner; Editing by Ed Osmond))