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CINCINNATI -- The defending champions have been eliminated. An AFC North title is now one victory away for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are on their best regular-season surge in seven years.Chris Boswell tied the club record with six field goals, and Ben Roethlisberger threw a fourth-quarter touchdown pass for a 24-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday that left Pittsburgh in control of the division.The Steelers (9-5) can win the title by beating the Ravens (8-6) at Heinz Field next Sunday.A lot of guys are treating this like its the playoffs already, linebacker Ryan Shazier said.The Bengals (5-8-1) can start thinking about the offseason instead of the postseason. They tied their franchise record with 12 victories last season, lost to the Steelers in the first round of the playoffs at Paul Brown Stadium with a last-minute collapse, and never looked like the same team this time around.It is hard because I feel like Ive not found the right buttons to push to get us to where we need to be, said coach Marvin Lewis, who is under contract through 2017. Its my job to figure out why we dont get it to where it needs to be. Weve been short.Boswell had just enough to get his kicks through a gusting wind. He was good from 45, 49, 49, 40, 49 and 30 yards.He needs no endorsement from me, coach Mike Tomlin said. Shoot, I just gave him the game ball.Some takeaways from the Steelers latest win in Cincinnati:KICK-6: Gary Anderson (1988 vs. Denver) and Jeff Reed (2002 vs. Jacksonville) also kicked six field goals for the Steelers, who beat the Broncos 39-21 and the Jaguars 25-23 in those contests.They didnt look pretty, they didnt go over by much, but they went in, Boswell said.The kicker also dived and tripped Alex Erickson on a 72-yard kickoff return, preventing a touchdown.I just dove and hit something and he went down, Boswell said.5 STRAIGHT: The Steelers have won five consecutive regular-season games for the first time since 2009. In addition to a balanced offense and an accurate kicker, theyve gotten steely play out of their defense, which has held each of the last five opponents to 100 yards rushing or less, Pittsburghs best such streak in four years. The Bengals managed only 76 yards on the ground, including 18 in the second half.Its like we felt we wanted it more, Shazier said.TEMPERS, TEMPERS: Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict and cornerback Adam Pacman Jones were flagged on Sunday -- the linebacker for tackling Roethlisberger after he got rid of the ball, the cornerback for taunting. Cincinnati got three personal fouls, including one on tackle Pat Sims that aided Pittsburghs touchdown drive. Pittsburgh got one personal foul.DROUGHT CONTINUES: The Bengals lost in the opening round of the playoffs each of the last five seasons, a playoff record. Their elimination from playoff contention extends their futility. They havent won a postseason game since the 1990 season, the sixth-longest drought in NFL history.Were so used to the past five years of going to the playoffs every year, defensive tackle Domata Peko said. Its the first time we havent in a long time, and it hurts. It really hurts me.INJURIES: Steelers: DE Stephon Tuitt had a facemask penalty against Andy Dalton that extended Cincinnatis opening field goal drive. He also injured his right knee on the drive and didnt return. ... TE Ladarius Green caught a 28-yard pass on the final drive and then went to the locker room to be tested for a concussion. ... Bengals WR A.J. Green was inactive for the fourth straight game with a strained right hamstring. He returned to practice on a limited basis last week and hopes to play in one of the two final games.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL Custom Nike Baseball Jerseys Sale . The Browns coaching search remains incomplete. Custom Nike St. Louis Cardinals Jerseys . The Dutchmans tenure got off to a poor start when referee Guido Winkmann awarded a penalty within two minutes for Niklas Starks clumsy challenge on Alexandru Maxim. https://www.customnikebaseballjerseys.com/ . Ronaldo produced a spectacular individual performance on Tuesday, scoring all three goals and guiding Portugal into the next years World Cup in Brazil with a 3-2 victory in Sweden. The Real Madrid forward has scored 66 goals in 2013, but the last three may be the boost he needs to upstage Messi after FIFA unexpectedly extended the voting period for the Ballon dOr to Nov. Custom Nike New York Yankees Jerseys . Anthony Calvillo, through 20 CFL seasons, was frequently invincible and largely stoic in the heat of competition. But underneath the professional exterior he was, and is, compellingly human. Custom Nike Atlanta Braves Jerseys . -- The boos poured down on Tom Brady and the New England Patriots at the end of a horrible first half. AUSTIN, Texas -- Charlie Strong has a masters degree in education, but like any head coach with 35 years on his resume, he is an expert in chemistry. What gnawed at Strong during his first two years of trying to excavate Texas from the muck of mediocrity is that he had to go downstairs to the locker room to find his players.It wasnt the flight of stairs that bothered him. Strong, 56, awakens at 4 a.m. every morning to jog. He has the physical presence of a man 20 years younger. What bothered Strong was the players lounge, or as he calls it, the game room, right down the hall from his office.The lounge looked as if it belonged in a business titans vacation home. The lounge was a man cave of dark wood, cushy chairs, high-top tables and two big flat-screens hovering above eye level. In the middle sat a pool table with burnt orange felt. What the game room didnt have was bodies. It looked emptier than Perry-Castaneda Library on Saturday night.You walked in there, and it was always clean, Strong said. Youre like, God almighty! We dont even use this thing.If the Longhorns return to glory in their third season under Strong, it will be because the 30-man freshman class, with players like guard Patrick Hudson, receiver Devin Duvernay, and especially quarterback Shane Buechele, have the maturity to match their athletic skill. It will be because the players who sat home during last bowl season came back in January with the desire never to do that again.But dont forget about the pingpong table.The transition from Mack Brown to Strong was rocky, which explains why only three seniors are expected to start this season. The difference in attitude between Strongs first two teams and this one is stark.I dont have to say, Hey, listen, tomorrow Id like for some of you guys to be over (here), doing something, Strong said. They show up now. Players used to come over to the football building, get their snack and go back to their dorm room. Strong, the defensive coordinator on Floridas two most recent national championship teams, knew a lack of chemistry when he saw it.So in June, Strong began serving lunch to the players in the lounge. He also had the lounge upgraded, adding a pingpong table, a second pool table, a foosball table, an air hockey table and even an old-school arcade game. The change came almost overnight.The place is always packed, Strong said. Even in the afternoons, theyre in there. Theyre always in there. Theyre always in there. Theyre sitting around, and its such a big deal. Theyre interacting! Theyre shooting pool. Theyre waiting on a pool table. Hey, Coach! Im the best pingpong player EVER! OK, whatever. You cant beat so-and-so.When August practice began, that so-and-so might have been Buechele, undefeated at pingpong since the table arrived in June. Junior defensive end Naashon Hughes has been seen taking down Strong at the billiards table.ddddddddddddThe players lounge used to be a spot where people would go and take naps. People would go and relax, senior safety Dylan Haines said. And now weve added all these different games and stuff. It just provides more areas for competition for the players, and it gets us all in there and all involved with talking to one another.You see a team coming together, which we had never had happen before, Strong said.When players want to be in the football building, it means they want to be around football. That sounds simplistic to the point of idiocy. Until its missing. When senior offensive tackle Kent Perkins began taking his bench-press test this summer, his teammates gathered. As Perkins continued past 20 reps, past 30 reps of the 225-pound bar, his test became a team event.He was going for rep 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, defensive line coach Brick Haley said, and you could just feel the energy in the room. Everybody is into their teammate and not into themselves.You see guys doing extra where theyve never done it before, Strong said. Or you ask a guy to do something, and its not like, Why do we have to do that, Coach? Weve never done it before. You dont hear that now. If you walk over (to the football facility), theyll be watching video, or theyll be outside on the field throwing, just doing things theyve never done before.On Friday, Strong sat down for a Big 12 Digital Network interview. In the middle of it, defensive end Breckyn Hager burst into the room. Strong, with bemusement, halted the interview.I beat Shane! Hager said. Im the first one to beat Shane!You beat him? How bad?21-18.I will be down there, Strong said, unable to control his laughter. Why are you sweating?Cause Ive been trying. This means a lot to me! Hager said.Exit Hager. That was breaking news, Strong said, still laughing.For Texas to contend for its first Big 12 championship in seven years, the Longhorns will need the fortune of good health. They will need freshmen and sophomores to beat juniors and seniors.Strong is too smart to promise anything. He trusts improvement. Improve, and success will follow. Already he has seen attitudes improve. The Longhorns held their first scrimmage on Saturday. It was also their first day of two-a-days. When they returned to the field Saturday night, they retained the enthusiasm they brought to the scrimmage.Sometimes you feel like theres been a change, Strong said. You feel it, and you see it. Thats what you see now with the team. You see it.You see the Longhorns chemistry formed in the heat and grind of sweaty August competition. And thats just in the air-conditioned comfort of the players lounge, the room a few steps down the hall from the head coachs office.Max Olson contributed to this story. ' ' '