PITTSBURGH — The Jekyll-and-Hyde Steelers put themselves smack into a possible driver’s seat in the AFC North with their 42-21 victory at Cincinnati on Sunday.

The math for them is simple: Beat the Falcons in Atlanta on Sunday and follow with two victories at home and the AFC North is theirs for the first time since 2010.

It could come down to their season finale Dec. 28 at Heinz Field against the Bengals, but those who have followed the Steelers know that the Falcons might be their most difficult opponent. After all, the Steelers have lost to the New York Jets and Tampa Bay Buccaneers and had near fatalities against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans.

What do those four teams have in common? They are all 2-11. The Steelers also managed to lose to the New Orleans Saints (5-8) at home before their victory against Cincinnati revived them.

“When we have everything clicking together and everybody working together, we’re a tough team to stop,” defensive end Cam Heyward said.

When they do not, they play down to some of the worst teams in the league. When it’s all said and done, the losses to the Jets and Bucs might not mean much if they can pull out the AFC North title. They still might make it in by going 2-1 over the next three games, but then they would need some help. Now, it’s all up to them.

“I don’t care about the style points,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “We’re just trying to do what is necessary to get out of these stadiums with wins.”

NOTES: QB Ben Roethlisberger needs fewer than 300 yards passing to break his team record of 4,328 yards set in 2009. His 4,055 yards rank fourth in team history — and he has the top four spots. With 29 TD passes, he also is likely to break his team record of 32 set in 2007. … Rookie WR Martavis Bryant caught a 94-yard touchdown pass, the second-longest in team history. Bryant was inactive the first six games, but he now has seven touchdown catches. He also caught an 80-yard touchdown against the New York Jets last month. … CB Ike Taylor was pulled from the game after allowing an 81-yard TD to A.J. Green, and it was announced he had shoulder and knee injuries. … NT Steve McLendon (shoulder) started after missing the past two games. … LB Jarvis Jones (wrist) was activated off short-term IR and played 34 snaps. He had been out since his injury in the third game of the season and subsequent surgery. … LB Ryan Shazier (ankle) played for the first time in a month and the third game in the past 10. However, he played only briefly.

REPORT CARD VS. BENGALS

–PASSING OFFENSE: A — Ben Roethlisberger shook off several bad outings to have one of his best. He completed 25 of 39 passes for 350 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions, no sacks and a 118.5 passer rating. He put the game away by throwing a perfect pass to rookie Martavis Bryant, who caught it in stride at the 50 and completed a 94-yard touchdown, second-longest in Steelers history. Once again, Antonio Brown was big, catching nine passes for 117 yards.

–RUSHING OFFENSE: A — Le’Veon Bell had another career day, rushing 26 times for 185 yards and two touchdowns. He had a long run of 53 yards and was not in at the end when the Steelers ran out the clock with rookie Josh Harris. Bell also caught six passes for another 50 yards and a touchdown.

–PASS DEFENSE: F — Ike Taylor was assigned to cover A.J. Green all over the field, for some inane reason, and Green wound up with 11 receptions for 224 yards, including an 81-yard touchdown in which he beat Taylor like a bass drum. The Steelers did have three sacks, but Andy Dalton completed 21 of 29 passes for 302 yards, two TDs, no interceptions and a 128.8 passer rating before giving way to Jason Campbell late when the game was out of hand.

–RUSH DEFENSE: B — The Bengals did not stick with a ground game that had some early promise. Jeremy Hill ran eight times for 46 yards, a 5.8-yard average. Andy Dalton ran up the middle on an option for a 20-yard touchdown. But, all in all, Cincinnati did not test a so-so Steelers run defense, rushing just 21 times for 86 yards.

–SPECIAL TEAMS: B — For the most part, the Steelers contained Adam Jones on his returns. He returned one punt for 16 yards. The Bengals tried an early fake punt that failed with a fumble. Shaun Suisham connected on both of his field goal tries, including one from 44 yards. Brad Wing had one punt travel 74 yards, bouncing into the end zone.

–COACHING: B — Mike Tomlin always seems to have his team at the top of its game for its best opponents. The criticism of him is his team plays down to teams such as the Jets and Bucs, two of their losses this season. He allowed Dick LeBeau to make a curious move of having Ike Taylor cover A.J. Green all over the field. Taylor, 34, hadn’t done that in quite some time. He also just returned from a broken forearm a week ago.