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CINCINNATI - From third overall in the NFL to among the worst in Bengals history, Cincinnatis defence has taken a great fall this season. And theres little time left to put it all back together again.The Bengals are tottering atop the AFC North following a 42-21 loss to Pittsburgh at Paul Brown Stadium. Cincinnati (8-4-1) has a half-game lead over Pittsburgh and Baltimore with three to play. The Bengals finish the season in Pittsburgh.The Steelers piled up 543 yards on Sunday. Its the third time this season that Cincinnati has given up 500 yards in a game, a franchise record, according to STATS. Only twice before had the Bengals allowed a pair of 500-yard games in a season, and those were in 1968 and 1969, when they were an expansion team.It gets worse.Linebacker Vontaze Burfict went on the injured reserve list on Tuesday, ending his season. The Bengals have severely missed their best defensive player, who was limited to only five starts because of a pair of concussions and knee surgery.The defence has played very well at times, looking like the unit that ranked in the top seven during each of the last three playoff seasons. When things go badly, it has a tendency to implode.One of the messages I am going to give the guys, that I have been telling them, is we have to be better when the odds are against us a little bit, co-ordinator Paul Guenther said. When things arent going quite as smoothly as we want them to go, we have to go out there and buckle up and play good defence.The defence has been pushed around in all four of Cincinnatis losses. The Bengals play at Cleveland (7-6) on Sunday.The Bengals retained the core of a defence that finished third overall in yards allowed last season. The only significant loss to free agency was defensive end Michael Johnson. Their linebackers have been hurt and tackle Geno Atkins has been slow in recovering from knee surgery.The Steelers piled up 25 points and 229 yards in the fourth quarter alone on Sunday. Ben Roethlisbergers 94-yard touchdown pass was the decisive play.I think thats the first time (since the season opener) that we gave up a deep ball, and thats not like us, safety George Iloka said. Well work on that as a secondary. Thats not how we play championship defence.Right now, it ranks among the leagues worst defences.The Bengals are on pace to give up 6,000 yards overall for only the second time in franchise history. After Sundays blowout loss, theyre in danger of failing to make the playoffs.So you go and you say, Hey, these are the things we need to correct, Guenther said. But we need to move forward.Notes: Quarterback AJ McCarron was added to the active roster on Tuesday. Hed been sidelined since training camp because of a sore passing shoulder. The fifth-round draft pick has practiced with the Bengals for the last three weeks. ... Coach Marvin Lewis apologized again on Tuesday for calling Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel a midget during a radio show on Monday night. Lewis said his remark was insensitive and offensive.___Online: AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Bill Russell Celtics Jersey .J. -- All those records, all for naught. Robert Williams Jersey .Y. - Terry and Kim Pegula have no immediate plans to tinker with their new NFL team. http://www.celticssale.com/kids-marcus-smart-celtics-jersey/ . The Cottagers last victory came in a 2-1 home win over West Ham when Rene Meulensteen was still in charge. Since then, a miserable run of seven defeats and two draws has seen the club part with the Dutch coach and replace him with German Felix Magath. Red Auerbach Celtics Jersey . -- Kole Calhoun homered and drove in three runs, Albert Pujols also went deep and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Chicago White Sox 8-4 Friday night. Paul Pierce Celtics Jersey . Warren made six birdies and a bogey for a 5-under total of 139 to sit one shot ahead of Felipe Aguilar of Chile, who carded a 69. David Horsey of England was also on 5 under through 15 holes to join Warren atop the leaderboard before play was stopped.Charlotte, NC (SportsNetwork.com) - Manu Ginobili scored 27 points, including two key baskets that stopped a late Charlotte rally, and the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Charlotte Hornets 98-93 on Wednesday. After a pair of Kemba Walker free throws brought Charlotte within a point late in the fourth quarter, Ginobilis bank shot and 3-pointer on back-to-back possessions restored San Antonios comfortable lead as the Spurs won for the third time in four games. San Antonio got 18 points from Danny Green and Tim Duncan chipped in 14 points and 10 rebounds in the victory. Despite 28 points from Walker, Charlotte saw its five-game winning streak come to an end. Bismack Biyombo recorded his second-straight double-double with 12 points, 15 boards and five blocks. Gerald Henderson and P.J. Hairston each added 11 points. Greens triple a minute into the final period extended San Antonios edge to 81-70, but a 15-5 Charlotte run put that lead in jeopardy. Lance Stephenson scored five points, and Hairston hit a pair of 3s before Walkers free throws trimmed the Hornets deficit to one. While Ginobili responded to extend San Antonios lead again, Charlotte went cold to end its chance of a comeback. They went nearly three minutes before Biyombo hit a free throw to snap the Hornets scoring drought, and they went nearly five minutes between shots from the field. Walkers layup with 15 seconds left ended that drought and 11 seconds later, he hit a 3-pointer to again inch closer to the Spurs.dddddddddddd However, each time San Antonio responded with a pair of free throws to hold off the Hornets. The Hornets jumped out to a 7-0 lead, but San Antonio responded with a 17-4 run to go up 17-11 with three minutes to go in the first quarter. San Antonio led 22-18 after one quarter when Stephensons jumper with 32 seconds left cut into the Spurs lead. Stephenson missed the previous 14 games with a pelvic strain. In the second quarter, San Antonio used great ball movement and shooting to increase its lead. Matt Bonner and Green each hit a pair of 3s as the Spurs went 5-of-6 from long distance during the quarter to take a 57-45 lead into the break on Ginobilis buzzer-beating triple. The Hornets limited San Antonio to 26.9 percent shooting in the third quarter, while hitting 9-of-15 shots themselves. Charlotte cut its deficit down to six points twice, but the Spurs did just enough to maintain their steady edge. Walkers bucket with 22 seconds to go trimmed San Antonios lead to 76-68 at the end of the third. Game Notes San Antonio has won eight straight against Charlotte ... Walker scored 25-or- more points for the sixth straight game ... With the win, Duncan and Tony Parker tied Robert Parish and Kevin McHale for second place in wins achieved as teammates with 656, all with the Spurs ... The season series will conclude on Jan. 28 in San Antonio. ' ' '