Cincinnati Bengals vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
|
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
4:30 p.m., WUSA-9, WJZ-13; No. 3 seed Bengals, 11-5 (AFC North champion); No. 6 seed Steelers, 11-5 (wild card)
Offense
The Bengals can be just about as unstoppable as anyone in the league when they get things revved up. QB Carson Palmer was the league's second-rated passer and set a club record with 32 TD passes, and he has plenty of help with RB Rudi Johnson and WRs Chad Johnson , left, and T.J. Houshmandzadeh. Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger , right, is playing with an ailing thumb, and Pittsburgh probably will want to try to control the game with the run rather than taking a risky approach against a Cincinnati defense that led the league with 31 interceptions.
Advantage: Bengals
Defense
Cincinnati surrendered 74 points while losing its last two games of the regular season. The key for the Bengals is forced turnovers. They led the league with a plus-24 turnover differential. CB Deltha O'Neal , left, tied for the league lead with 10 interceptions, and rookie Odell Thurman tied for the most among linebackers with five. Thurman also had a team-leading 148 tackles. Pittsburgh ranked fourth in the NFL in total defense. LBs Joey Porter , right, and Clark Haggans combined for 19 1/2 sacks, and they'll need to be in Palmer's face if the Steelers are going to slow down the Cincinnati offense.
Advantage: Steelers
Coaches
Few have done a better job in the league the last few years than the Bengals' Marvin Lewis, who has the franchise in the playoffs for the first since 1990. He has taken the Bengals from laughingstock to Super Bowl contender in three years. The Pittsburgh native is a former Steelers assistant. The Steelers' Bill Cowher has far more postseason experience as an NFL head coach, but not all of Cowher's experiences have been good. His career postseason record is 8-9.
Advantage: Bengals
Special Teams
Pittsburgh's Antwaan Randle-El returned two punts for touchdowns during the regular season, and Quincy Morgan ranked fifth in the AFC in kickoff returns. But Cincinnati PK Shayne Graham led the AFC with 131 points and was named to the Pro Bowl.
Advantage: Bengals
And the Winner Is
The Steelers won in Cincinnati during the regular season. But the Bengals know they can beat this team, having won in Pittsburgh later in the season, and they still can be a major factor in the AFC playoffs if they can regroup from their sluggish finish to the regular season. Pick: Bengals
-- Mark Maske
