Ben Roethlisberger threw for 242 yards and a touchdown and Willie Parker rushed for another as the Pittsburgh Steelers continued their strong start to the season with a 26-3 victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.

Despite being forced to settle for four first-half field goals, Pittsburgh (2-0) were in complete control as they won for the sixth time in their last seven home openers.

It was also the 500th victory in franchise history.

Following a week that was dominated by the medical updates to Kevin Everett after his life-threatening spinal-cord injury, the Bills were overwhelmed, managing over 220 yards of offense only after a couple of late drives.

Roethlisberger and the Steelers had very little trouble establishing their ball-control attack early, going 58 yards on 13 plays on the opening drive before settling for a 34-yard field goal by Jeff Reed.

Buffalo (0-2) attempted to answer back on their first possession, getting down to the Pittsburgh 37 following a 44-yard return by Terrence McGee.

However, the Bills were stopped on a 4th-and-2 to turn the ball over on downs.

Although Roethlisberger was intercepted throwing deep downfield on the next play, the Steelers defense forced a 3-and-out before the offense went on a 14-play drive that bridged the first and second quarters and ended with a 28-yard FG by Reed.

Reed finished with two more field goals in the second, as the Bills defense would not break deep in their own end.

It was not until the second half that Pittsburgh finally broke through, as Roethlisberger found rookie tight end Matt Spaeth for a one-yard touchdown for a 19-3 lead with 4:46 remaining in the third.

It was the second straight week with a score for Spaeth, who was one of four different receivers to catch a TD from Roethlisberger in a 34-7 win at the Cleveland Browns last week.

Parker, who finished with 126 yards on 23 carries, added an 11-yard TD run midway through the fourth to cap the scoring.

JP Losman finished 15-of-25 for 154 yards and rookie running back Marshawn Lynch had 64 yards on 18 attempts for the Bills.

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