Dec 5, 2011 3 min read

PITTSBURGH — It must be December.

Yep, the calendar confirms it.

So did Sunday’s 35-7 Steelers win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

It was the team’s most complete game of the season and included opportunistic offense, big-play special teams and a defense that limited their opponent to under 250 yards.

“They beat us in every area today,” Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said.

“I loved the energy of the group in all three phases,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. “We made splash plays in all three phases.”

Seems like every year the Steelers seem to find that extra gear necessary to take what should be a close, hard-fought battle and turn it into a laugher. And it seems like that game always comes in the month of December.

Tomlin was asked about this seemingly increased sense of urgency once the calendar turned to the last month of the year.

“I’m kind of an idealist and a football purist,” he said. “I’d like to think we are capable of having that sense of urgency in September because you only get 16 opportunities to state your case. Acknowledging that we all fall short of perfection, the picture is a little bit clearer this time of year.”

The Steelers woke up this morning still trying to catch the Baltimore Ravens. Even though their records are identical, the Ravens’ 9-3 record included two wins over the Steelers. In short, all the Steelers did Sunday was hold serve for at least another week.

The fact that we’re into the last month of the calendar year means that we’re in the home stretch of an NFL season that ends for all but 12 teams on the first day of January. The win solidifies Pittsburgh’s chances of playing beyond New Year’s Day and basically cripples the Bengals opportunity to do the same thing.

“It’s even more important in December,” linebacker James Farrior said. “These are the games that count. These are the games that are going to put you in place to make your run. We’re just trying to keep up in the division. We’re behind in the division right now, so we have to keep on winning. That’s all we can focus on.

“We’re in it now. Right now is our time. We can’t afford to lose any game. So we’re going to have to play every game like it’s a playoff game. We already started our playoffs.”

“For us, it’s just about taking care of what we can control,” quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. “every week trying to come out here and give it our best and that is what we did today.”

Yep, in all three phases.

It must be December.

Sports editor Mike Ciarochi may be reached at mciarochi@heraldstandard.com.