Winners and Losers from Steelers' 42-21 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 14

Winners

LeVeon Bell - He and Walter Payton are the only two guys to gain 200 yards from scrimmage in three consecutive games. The only guys - ever. Walter Payton. Bell was excellent in this game, but perhaps most importantly, watch the fourth quarter carries when he starts taking the same counter play repeatedly up the A-gap. He recognized the Bengals had begun to spill over the edge where Heath Miller and David DeCastro were pulling, and he exploited the lack of defenders. Great vision and smart football. He's an MVP candidate; I don't care what anyone says otherwise.

Antwon Blake - Blake came up to hit Bengals' wide receiver A.J. Green and essentially forced a fumble. That was more than cornerback Ike Taylor did in the entire game, but that's beside the point. Blake stepped in and did his best to make a play on a player who has a considerable size advantage. Wait, maybe that isn't beside the point. His pass breakup deep downfield on Green was impressive and his hit/shove of Mohammad Sanu was the cherry on top of an excellent game.

Lawrence Timmons - The Steelers' most ardent run-supporting linebacker had his hands and everything else in the pile, bringing a solid effort against a strong-rushing football team. Timmons was key in a few short-yardage situations and he stuffed a few short passes to his side as well.

Heath Miller/David DeCastro - A rare example of a two-player combo pick, the fact they each deserve equal praise is why the Steelers were able to dominate the Bengals during the final 15 minutes. They executed in near-flawless precision with one another and their kick-out blocks on Bell's counter runs were as lethal against the Bengals as they were against Tennessee.

(honorable mention: Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, Sean Spence, Stephon Tuitt)

Losers

Mike Mitchell - The touchdown to A.J. Green was likely more on Mitchell than it was on cornerback Ike Taylor (more on him coming shortly), and on the other deep-pass to Green, it appeared Mitchell was in the wrong place. Add in a dropped interception, and it really wasn't a stellar game for the Steelers' free safety.

Ike Taylor - I really hope Taylor stays in Pittsburgh and starts a successful media career. It will be interesting to see how the Steelers justify either keeping him on the field next week against Atlanta or announce that he won't be playing due to one of several injuries he's suffered in the last two games. But this simply doesn't work anymore. Best of luck, Ike.