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          Ex-Steeler Mike Hilton picks off Ben Roethlisberger, races 24 yards for Bengals touchdown

          • Ben Baby, ESPN Staff WriterNov 28, 2021, 07:49 PM
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              Ben Baby covers the Cincinnati Bengals for ESPN. He joined the company in July 2019. Prior to ESPN, he worked for various newspapers in Texas, most recently at The Dallas Morning News where he covered college sports. He provides daily coverage of the Bengals for ESPN.com, while making appearances on SportsCenter, ESPN's NFL shows and ESPN Radio programs. A native of Grapevine, Texas, he graduated from the University of North Texas with a bachelor's degree in journalism. He is an adjunct journalism professor at Southern Methodist University and a member of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA).
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          CINCINNATI -- Sunday's game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Pittsburgh Steelers featured interceptions on consecutive plays.

          The first started a scuffle on the field. The second one turned the game into a bigger blowout.

          Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton picked off Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and returned it for a 24-yard touchdown to give the Bengals a 31-3 lead right before halftime.

          Hilton, who was with the Steelers before this season, high-stepped into the end zone as the bench exploded to cap an emotionally charged sequence.

          One play earlier, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was intercepted by Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. On that play, Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt engaged Burrow in a lengthy block before planting him into the turf at Paul Brown Stadium, sparking a small fracas in the middle of the field. Cincinnati's coaches were incensed, and it took a few minutes for the game to be restarted.

          When it did, Hilton's interception furthered the rout. Cincinnati entered the day looking to sweep both regular-season games against Pittsburgh for the first time since 2009.