Sports

Bengals relax

Andy Dalton, A.J. Green and the rest of the Bengals playmakers watched from the sideline as their backups pulled another victory out — with the defense leading the way, of course.

Carlos Dunlap returned an interception 14 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter yesterday, sending Cincinnati to a 23-17 victory over the Ravens in a regular-season finale in Cincinnati that had more of a preseason feel.

With little at stake, both playoff-bound teams rested a lot of their starters to get ready for their first-round games.

The Ravens (10-6) had already clinched their second straight AFC North title and decided to use the final game to get healthier. They had several stars inactive and pulled quarterback Joe Flacco and running back Ray Rice after only two series. They’ll host Andrew Luck and the Colts on Sunday.

The Bengals (10-6) are locked into the sixth seed as the final wild-card team.

Steelers 24, Browns 10

In Pittsburgh, Ben Roethlisberger threw three short touchdown passes, and the Steelers avoided their first losing season in nearly a decade.

Antonio Brown, Leonard Pope and Plaxico Burress scored for the Steelers (8-8), who mustered enough energy to end a disappointing season on a positive note. Pittsburgh’s top-ranked defense forced four turnovers as the Steelers won for just the second time in the last six weeks, a slide that knocked them out of the playoffs for the first time since 2009.