The Pittsburgh Steelers have held off a fourth-quarter fightback by the Cincinnati Bengals to go 6-8 for their season in the AFC North division.

Mike Tomlin's side led by 20 points at the break, but came under pressure as the visitors battled hard to keep their winning run alive.

The Steelers thought that they had taken the lead when Kevin Huber fumbled a snap, allowing Will Allen to tackle for what looked like a safety.

However, the officials ruled him down at the one-yard line - although Le'Veon Bell dashed into the endzone from the resulting play.

Antonio Brown then extended the home side's advantage to 21-0 with two touchdowns, the first coming from a Ben Roethlisberger pass and the second being a 67-yard return from Huber's punt.

Shaun Suisham made it 24 unanswered points with a 25-yard field goal in the second quarter, before Giovani Bernard rushed to the endzone to get the Bengals on the board.

Another kick from Suisham, this time from 45 yards out, gave the Steelers a healthy lead at the half-way stage at Heinz Field.

The only points of a tight third quarter came from the boot of Suisham once again, but Marvin Lewis's team refused to go quietly as Andy Dalton passed one yard for Tyler Eifert to claw back seven points early in the fourth.

Dalton then capped off a 75-yard drive by firing 13 yards to Marvin Jones, but the quarterback's pass to Eifert for the two-point conversion was no good, leaving them 10 points adrift with just over five minutes left to play.

The result sees the Bengals' three-game stream come to an end, although they remain top of the AFC North on 9-5.