Cincinnati Bengals host Pittsburgh Steelers in AFC North Division match-up
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger leads his team into Cincinnati to take on the Bengals on Monday, 8 November, in a match-up of two teams at either end of the AFC North Division standings.
Previous meetings and recent games
Nine weeks into last season, the Pittsburgh Steelers looked poised to claim the AFC North Division title with a 6-2 record before a 18-12 loss to the Bengals sent them on a five-game losing streak, eventually leading to their failing to make the play-offs.
The Steelers, at 5-2 after eight weeks this season, are once again poised to make their way into the play-offs atop their division, and will be hoping that history does not repeat itself and the Bengals do not send them spiralling down the standings.
Since 2001, the Steelers hold the edge head-to-head in this match-up 13-6, but the Bengals won both times last season. The Steelers are most recently coming off a 20-10 loss in week eight to the New Orleans Saints.
The Bengals have lost four in a row and are quickly watching any play-off aspirations they might have had going into the season evaporate before their eyes. The Bengals have most recently come off losing to the Miami Dolphins last week by a score of 22-14.
How they match up
The Pittsburgh Steelers are led by their quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who has added balance to the team's offence, taking pressure off their top running back Rashard Mendenhall who has rushed for over 600 yards so far this season. In only three starts
this season, Roethlisberger has thrown almost twice as many touchdowns as his back-ups (Dennis Dixon and Charlie Batch) did in the first four games, in his absence, combined.
It's hard to really know what makes the Cincinnati Bengals tick. Is it Carson Palmer? Is it their receiving tandem of Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco? Is it their running back Cedric Benson? Whoever the go-to guy really is in Cincinnati, he's not getting
the job done. The only one of the four aforementioned superstars who may have in any way exceeded expectations is Terrell Owens.
After disappointing spells with the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, and Buffalo Bills, Owens is on pace to post the kind of numbers he hasn't seen since his days with the San Francisco 49ers. Owens leads the team in virtually every single receiving
category and is tied for sixth in the NFL in receptions (45) and sixth in the NFL in receiving yards (629).
What to expect
The Bengals will be looking to turn things around as their play-off lives are very much on the line, and getting wins within the division will certainly aid their cause. In the division, the Bengals have lost to the Cleveland Browns, but came away with a
15-10 win over the Baltimore Ravens back on week two. The Ravens then went on to beat the Steelers only two weeks later. Both the Steelers and Bengals are 1-1 against divisional opponents.
The Steelers can't afford to lose two games in a row, and they're too good a team to let it happen.
Steelers win, but not easily, 19-17.
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