NFL game summary for 09/26/1971:
With the Pittsburgh defense limiting Cincinnati to 28 yards rushing, Terry Bradshaw passed for 2 TDs and Jon Staggers returned a punt 67 yards to end an eight-game Cincinnati winning streak. Dave Smith, who caught one of the TD passes, made 7 additional receptions for a total of 162 yards. Bengals cornerback Lemar Parrish picked up a fumble for a TD run, the second in his career.
Team stats coming into this game (NFL ranks in parentheses):
| Team | Rush Yds/Gm | Pass Yds/Gm | Tot Yds/Gm | Turnovers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | OFFENSE | 236.0 (2) | 296.0 (2) | 532.0 (1) | 1 |
| DEFENSE | 39.0 (2) | 276.0 (24) | 315.0 (16) | 4 | |
 | OFFENSE | 223.0 (3) | 129.0 (17) | 352.0 (7) | 7 |
| DEFENSE | 45.0 (5) | 96.0 (5) | 141.0 (2) | 4 |
Line: Bengals by 4
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Bengals (1-1-0) | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1-0) | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
( 3- 0) CIN Horst Muhlmann 33 yard field goal
( 3- 7) PIT Dave Smith 16 yard pass from Terry Bradshaw (Roy Gerela kick)
(10- 7) CIN Lemar Parrish 14 yard fumble return (Horst Muhlmann kick)
(10-14) PIT Jon Staggers 67 yard punt return (Roy Gerela kick)
(10-21) PIT Preston Pearson 13 yard pass from Terry Bradshaw (Roy Gerela kick)
CIN PIT
First Downs: 15 15
Rushes-yards: 18-28 29-80
Yards/rush: 1.6 2.8
Comp-Att-Yd-INT: 23-43-266-1 18-30-249-1
Sacked-yards: 5-41 5-41
Net pass yards: 225 208
Net yards/pass: 4.7 5.9
Total net yards: 253 288
Total plays: 66 (27% run) 64 (45% run)
Yards/play: 3.8 4.5
Fumbles-lost: 1-0 4-2
Turnovers: 1 3
Penalties-yards: 3-35 9-95
Attendance: 44,448
Passing:
CIN: Virgil Carter, 22 of 38 for 255 yards (1 int); Ken Anderson, 1 of 5 for 11 yards PIT: Terry Bradshaw, 18 of 30 for 249 yards and 2 TDs (1 int)
Rushing:
CIN: Jess Phillips, 7 for 12 yards; Essex Johnson, 5 for 8 yards; Fred Willis, 3 for 5 yards; Virgil Carter, 1 for 7 yards; Eric Crabtree, 1 for 1 yard; Paul Robinson, 1 for -5 yards PIT: Preston Pearson, 12 for 60 yards; Warren Bankston, 12 for 14 yards; Terry Bradshaw, 5 for 6 yards
Receiving:
CIN: Bob Trumpy, 5 for 47 yards; Speedy Thomas, 4 for 74 yards; Essex Johnson, 3 for 51 yards; Bruce Coslet, 3 for 51 yards; Fred Willis, 3 for 29 yards; Jess Phillips, 3 for -5 yards; Eric Crabtree, 1 for 11 yards; Paul Robinson, 1 for 8 yards PIT: Dave Smith, 8 for 162 yards and 1 TD; Preston Pearson, 5 for 45 yards and 1 TD; Warren Bankston, 3 for 21 yards; Bob Adams, 1 for 12 yards; Ron Shanklin, 1 for 9 yards
Kick returns:
CIN: Paul Robinson, 1 for 22 yards; Doug Dressler, 1 for 20 yards; Essex Johnson, 1 for 19 yards PIT: Jim Brumfield, 2 for 53 yards; Glen Edwards, 1 for 21 yards
Punt returns:
CIN: Lemar Parrish, 1 for 11 yards PIT: Jon Staggers, 7 for 92 yards and 1 TD
Interceptions:
CIN: Lemar Parrish, 1 for 0 yards PIT: Glen Edwards, 1 for 20 yards
Punting:
CIN: Dave Lewis, 10 for 483 yards PIT: Bobby Walden, 9 for 394 yards
Field Goals:
CIN: Horst Muhlmann, 1/3
CIN: Virgil Carter, 22 of 38 for 255 yards (1 int); Ken Anderson, 1 of 5 for 11 yards PIT: Terry Bradshaw, 18 of 30 for 249 yards and 2 TDs (1 int)
Rushing:
CIN: Jess Phillips, 7 for 12 yards; Essex Johnson, 5 for 8 yards; Fred Willis, 3 for 5 yards; Virgil Carter, 1 for 7 yards; Eric Crabtree, 1 for 1 yard; Paul Robinson, 1 for -5 yards PIT: Preston Pearson, 12 for 60 yards; Warren Bankston, 12 for 14 yards; Terry Bradshaw, 5 for 6 yards
Receiving:
CIN: Bob Trumpy, 5 for 47 yards; Speedy Thomas, 4 for 74 yards; Essex Johnson, 3 for 51 yards; Bruce Coslet, 3 for 51 yards; Fred Willis, 3 for 29 yards; Jess Phillips, 3 for -5 yards; Eric Crabtree, 1 for 11 yards; Paul Robinson, 1 for 8 yards PIT: Dave Smith, 8 for 162 yards and 1 TD; Preston Pearson, 5 for 45 yards and 1 TD; Warren Bankston, 3 for 21 yards; Bob Adams, 1 for 12 yards; Ron Shanklin, 1 for 9 yards
Kick returns:
CIN: Paul Robinson, 1 for 22 yards; Doug Dressler, 1 for 20 yards; Essex Johnson, 1 for 19 yards PIT: Jim Brumfield, 2 for 53 yards; Glen Edwards, 1 for 21 yards
Punt returns:
CIN: Lemar Parrish, 1 for 11 yards PIT: Jon Staggers, 7 for 92 yards and 1 TD
Interceptions:
CIN: Lemar Parrish, 1 for 0 yards PIT: Glen Edwards, 1 for 20 yards
Punting:
CIN: Dave Lewis, 10 for 483 yards PIT: Bobby Walden, 9 for 394 yards
Field Goals:
CIN: Horst Muhlmann, 1/3