The games you're expected to win can sometimes be the hardest ones to play -- more difficult than facing the Indianapolis Colts with Peyton Manning or even the San Diego Chargers with a banged-up LaDainian Tomlinson.

The Cincinnati Bengals were supposed to be a gimme for the Steelers on Thursday night at Heinz Field.

It's been that kind of season for the Bengals, who have a ton of injured players plus a battered psyche to boot. Cincinnati is living and dying these days with a young, inexperienced quarterback named Ryan Fitzpatrick, but it keeps coming up with the same, old excuses.

On paper, last night's Steelers-Bengals contest -- "clash" is too strong a word for best versus worst in the AFC North -- was a greater test of the collective attention span of the Steelers players than it was a schematic battle.

Not surprisingly, Cincinnati led, 7-0, taking it right to the NFL's top-ranked defense. For a change, it was the Steelers' defense that required a rare pick-me-up from the offense.

Hey, even a broken clock works twice a day.

In many ways, the Steelers' ensuing scoring drive that made a 7-7 tie seem like a blowout was one of its best of the entire season.

With the Bengals loading the box against Willie Parker, the message was clear:

Let's see if quarterback Ben Roethlisberger can beat us.

Roethlisberger made it look easy -- too easy, in fact.

Going downfield on three consecutive first-down plays, Roethlisberger drilled strikes of 14 yards to tight end Heath Miller and 37 yards to receiver Hines Ward before throwing incomplete to Miller.

On third down, from Cincinnati 12, Roethlisberger passed 8 yards to rookie receiver Limas Sweed -- 1 yard short of a first down.

Was anybody other than me surprised that Sweed, who so far has been a disappointing draft selection, didn't run to the first-down marker before cutting off his route?

No matter. Against the Bengals -- at home and deep in the red zone -- going for it on fourth down was less of a gamble than it was an obligation.

New short-yardage back Gary Russell slammed over left tackle for the necessary yard. And two plays later, Roethlisberger and Miller hooked up again, this time for a 3-yard touchdown pass that tied the score.

Cincinnati's offense didn't confuse the Steelers, especially with receiver Chad Ocho Cinco deactivated for the game. The Bengals game plan was like giving defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau an open-book test.

The Bengals kept it simple, running Cedric Benson inside to keep the pass rushers at bay and offered little more than a short, safe aerial attack.

If the Steelers played their game, they had nothing to fear. They were the better team.

But the better team isn't always ready to play when it's expected to win.

Thanks to an early wake-up call, maintaining a high level of concentration was less of a problem for the Steelers than staying warm on a cold, snowy night.