Bengals beat Steelers to take control of AFC North

PITTSBURGH (Reuters) - Bernard Scott raced 96 yards with a kickoff return as the surprising Cincinnati Bengals took control of the AFC North Division with an 18-12 victory over the NFL defending champions Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.

Scott's run was the game's only touchdown in Cincinnati's (7-2) second win over Pittsburgh (6-3) this season.

Cincinnati's Shayne Graham kicked four field goals, two in the fourth quarter, after Pittsburgh's Jeff Reed had leveled the score at 12-12 with a field goal with 11:20 to play.

Winners of only four games in a 4-11-1 season a year ago, the Bengals surged to their seventh victory in eight games by holding Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to 174 yards passing and sacking him four times.

Pittsburgh had won five in a row following its September loss to the Bengals, but the Steelers could not find the end zone, relying on Reed's four field goals for their only points.

(Reporting by Gene Cherry in Salvo, North Carolina; Editing by John Mehaffey)