Ben Roethlisberger's three second-half touchdown passes and a stingy defense helped the Pittsburgh Steelers ease to a 28-10 victory over the Denver Broncos.

The Steelers returned to action after a bye week and limited the Broncos to just 27 rushing yards in winning a fifth consecutive game, as the Super Bowl champions continue to look more like the team that powered to the NFL title in February.

The victory moved Pittsburgh (6-2) into a tie with the Cincinnati Bengals at the top of the AFC North and in position to lift a third straight division title.

Roethlisberger hooked up with Hines Ward for a three-yard touchdown pass with 9:09 left in the third quarter to give his team a 14-10 lead and finished off the Broncos with a 25-yard effort to Mike Wallace with seven minutes remaining.

Rashard Mendenhall helped the Steelers control the game with 155 yards rushing on 22 carries as Roethlisberger put a seal on the victory with a second three-yard scoring pass to Ward with a little over a minute left in the fourth quarter.

Denver (6-2) lost for the second time in a row after starting the season with six successive wins.