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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 Zach Parise Team USA Hockey Jersey . - Joao Plata scored twice in the final 24 minutes, including the winner in stoppage time, to help Real Salt Lake remain unbeaten with a 3-2 victory over the winless Chicago Fire on Saturday night. Custom Team USA Hockey Jersey . Blatter, a 75-year-old Swiss executive who has been in office since 1998, was handed a final four-year term as head of footballs governing body in a vote at FIFAs congress. He won 186 votes out of 203 ballots. http://www.hockeyauthenticusaonline.us/Ryan-Suter-Jersey/. -- With Tony Allen back, the Memphis Grizzlies were able to turn up their defence pressure and hold off the Los Angeles Clippers down the stretch. David Backes Team USA Hockey Jersey . -- Arizona coach Bruce Arians says there "were obviously very, very many problems" with the officiating in the Cardinals 24-21 loss at Philadelphia. Ben Bishop Jersey .com) - Chris Kreider tallied a goal and an assist as the New York Rangers capped a successful California road trip with a 3-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Saturday.The NHLs Mar. 5 Trade Deadline is drawing closer and teams will be deciding on whether to buy or sell. Check out todays trade-related reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. And follow TSN.ca through Deadline Day for all the updates. Kings Ransom With the Los Angeles Kings fighting for a Western Conference playoff berth and just three points up on the wild card zone, is it time for general manager Dean Lombardi to pull the trigger on a deal? The Hockey News looks back at one of Lombardis shrewdest moves - sending Jack Johnson and a first rounder to the Blue Jackets in exchange for Jeff Carter in 2012 – and wonders if the same type of shake-up is available this season. Former Kings Matt Moulson and Mike Cammalleri would work - THN muses - but even a cheaper option like Brad Boyes could also do the trick. Not Going Wild The Minnesota Wild turned heads at the 2013 trade deadline by letting go of prime assets like Johan Larsson, Matt Hackett and a pair of high draft picks for then-Sabres captain Jason Pominville. So, naturally, surrendering all those future assets would naturally take them out of the running to add a major piece this year, right? Not necesssarily so, says Wild GM Chuck Fletcher.dddddddddddd He told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune that he intends to be more cautious this deadline, but that he wont say no to the right deal. "In a perfect world, I dont want to trade first-round picks in consecutive years," Fletcher told the Star-Trib. "If opportunities come up, sometimes you have to do things, and this first round isnt as deep and our scouts always seem to deliver no matter what picks I leave them with. But it would have to be something pretty special. Id like our guys to have a first-rounder this year." Blue Line Bolts Thanks to injuries on the blue line including Mattias Ohlund and Brian Lee, the Tampa Bay Lightning find themselves with a defence budget to work with ahead of the deadline. With about $3 million in available cap space, the Tampa Bay Times envisions the Bolts looking for a blue line stalwart to help the likes of Victor Hedman and Mark Barberio. The Islanders Andrew MacDonald and Detroits Kyle Quincey headline the Times wishlist. MacDonald averages the seventh-highest ice-time in the league while Quincey - a more expensive rental option would be a more stay-at-home pick-up. ' ' '