PITTSBURGH — Heath Miller didn’t take long to make an impact in his return from a high-ankle sprain.
The fourth-year tight end caught four passes for 44 yards in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 27-10 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday night, including a touchdown pass.
The score was the 20th of Miller’s career, matching Bennie Cunningham for third-most among Steelers tight ends.
Elbie Nickel, a star in the 1940s and ’50s, leads the list with 37. Eric Green had 24 for the Steelers from 1990-94.
Miller entered the game with 21 receptions for 240 yards and a touchdown, but he missed the Steelers’ games with San Diego and Indianapolis because of the ankle injury.
Miller also set up Gary Russell’s 2-yard touchdown run in the third quarter with a 19-yard reception on the previous play.
While Miller was injured, backup Matt Spaeth emerged as a receiving threat. The second-year tight end entered Thursday with 15 catches for 126 yards.
Coach Mike Tomlin said that the success of the Steelers wide receivers has made more room for the tight ends.
“It is a function of the defenses that we have seen over the past couple of weeks that have created the umbrella defense,” Tomlin told reporters on Tuesday. “We went through a spell there where we were getting behind people; Nate Washington was catching balls behind people. Really, I think that it has been people are making a conscious effort to keep things inside of them. Part of smart football at times is taking what the defense is giving you. Not only have we stepped up the production from the tight end position, but Mewelde Moore has caught quite a few balls here the past couple of weeks. I really just think that it is a function of what defenses are willing to give us and us being smart enough to take it.”
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Running out of wideouts: The production of Miller and Spaeth has become a key component for an offense that is relying more and more on throwing the ball but doing it with fewer wide receivers.
The Steelers only had four receivers – Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes, Nate Washington and rookie Limas Sweed – for Thursday night’s game. Sweed and Holmes both missed time with injuries during a third-quarter possession, leaving Miller and Spaeth to split out wide on some formations.
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No Ocho Cinco: The Bengals were without a big-name wide receiver on Thursday night, but it was of their own doing. The team deactivated Chad Ocho Cinco, formerly Chad Johnson, for breaking a team rule. The five-time Pro Bowler, who asked to be traded in the offseason, has just 41 catches for 383 yards and four touchdowns this season. He was replaced in the lineup by Glenn Holt, whose first catch of the year was a 10-yard touchdown grab in the first quarter on Thursday.
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Notes: Russell’s 2-yard touchdown run was the first of his career. … The Steelers entered the game with a 4-4 record on Thursday nights. … Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau, who coach the Bengals from 2000-02, was honored before the game for his 50 years in the NFL.
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