PITTSBURGH – The Steelers stayed warmer than a blast furnace, extending their five-game winning streak Thursday night by crushing the Panthers. They entered the match after a series of three consecutive wins – 52-21.

Ben Roethlisberger of Pittsburgh completed 22 of 25 shots for 328 yards and five touchdowns with five receivers. He had a perfect pass mark of 158.3 for the fourth time in a 15-year career.

The best game of all time, Ben?

"Well, if you look at the statistics – probably," says Roethlisberger. "But you know what, guys are playing games, I'm only going to be as good as the linemen and the guys playing the pieces for me."

They wore Color Rush's "Dark Knight" uniform – one remembers Batman and Bane once they tore Heinz Field – the Steelers (6-2-1) needed little time to turn off the light on the Panthers, even after the start of the game by Carolina cutting through the Pittsburgh defense for 75 yards and a first-base touchdown.

Pittsburgh responded by scoring 24 consecutive points, including two touchdowns on both games after the Panthers' first possession: a 75-yard touchdown pass from Roethlisberger to JuJu Smith-Schuster, followed by scorer Vince Williams's 17-yard touchdown. A Newton Cam interception during the next capture.

The win extended the Northwest AFC's Cincinnati (5-3) lead to a full game, while giving them the fourth best record of the conference as the weekend draws near. The Panthers (6-3) have lost a game and a half behind the New Orleans Saints, NFC's southern leaders, and could soon face a challenge from behind by Atlanta's terrible Falcons. .

"It's a good feeling to beat a good football team," Roethlisberger said.

Three other things we learned:

1. It was the first time in the Pittsburgh winning streak that RB James Conner was not rushing for at least 100 yards (65 yards, TD) – mainly because he did not need it and also because he had been evaluated for a concussion in the second half. Big Ben was exceptionally well-distributed, including a 53-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Brown, who was finally covered by CB rookie Donte Jackson, who allowed the Steelers to score 31-14. . Of course, the Pittsburgh offensive could be drastically altered in the coming days. RB off-roader The Veon Bell is expected to join the team before Tuesday's deadline to signal he wants to play this season.

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2 Newton and Carolina, running back Christian McCaffrey, looked set to make their way with the Steelers after the opening parade. McCaffrey has accumulated 60 yards on 75 yards, adding a 20-yard pass from Newton, who has a campaign approaching his 2015 MVP effort. But Pittsburgh's defense re-emerged during the team's winning streak and quickly gave way, starting with Williams 'choice 6, and largely overcame the Panthers' duo (although McCaffrey also scored an aesthetic goal). in the second quarter, he only scored 78 yards after his initial touch). The Steelers special teams also took the lead. K Chris Boswell made a 50-yard placement and the cover unit forced Curtis Samuel to fumble on kickoff at the end of the third quarter, allowing another TD to start the final one. period. Bottom line: team effort dominating near the confluence of Trois-Rivières.

3 It was not a memorable evening for Pitt and Carnegie Mellon, a native of Pittsburgh, and former Steelers minority owner, David Tepper, who bought the Panthers from their dishonored predecessor Jerry Richardson earlier this year and have come across the line. of touch before the kickoff. Still, he has a good team that has just been steamed by a night off. However, the Panthers need to learn to impose themselves on the road, since they have never won a playoff match against Charlotte in the days of Cam Newton. They are 5-0 at the Bank of America Stadium this year, but only 1 to 3 away.

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Follow Nate Davis from USA TODAY Sports on Twitter @ByNateDavis.

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