Bengals at Steelers
A disastrous defeat at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers in January was the latest chapter in the Cincinnati Bengals' ever-growing book of postseason shortcomings. Eight months removed from their fourth-quarter meltdown, the Bengals have a chance to exact a measure of revenge on Sunday afternoon when they invade Heinz Field to visit their bitter AFC North rivals.
Jeremy Hill's fumble opened the door and safety Adam Jones and mercurial linebacker Vontaze Burfict committed egregious 15-yard penalties to provide the opportunity for the Steelers to slam it in the Bengals' face with a game-winning field goal in that wild-card contest. Burfict, who is serving a three-game suspension and will miss Sunday's tilt, ratcheted up the hatred in the series by pulling down Le'Veon Bell on a play that ended his season. Hill will play on Sunday and found the end zone for the eighth time in nine contests in Cincinnati's 23-22 season-opening victory over the New York Jets last week. With Bell serving a three-game ban, DeAngelo Williams earned AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors by rushing for 143 yards and two scores in Pittsburgh's 38-16 triumph over Washington on Monday.
TV: 1 p.m. ET, CBS. LINE: Steelers -3. O/U: 48.5
ABOUT THE BENGALS (1-0): Andy Dalton, who missed last season's wild-card contest after fracturing his thumb versus Pittsburgh in Week 14, overcame seven sacks to throw for 366 yards against the Jets. Trusted target A.J. Green reeled in 12 receptions for 180 yards for a touchdown last week and has found the end zone in each of his last three meetings with Pittsburgh. Selected in the first and second rounds of the 2011 draft, Green and Dalton comprise the most productive wide receiver-quarterback duo in its first five seasons with 395 completions for 5,789 yards, while the tandem's 40 touchdowns are tied with Miami's Mark Clayton and Dan Marino from 1983-87, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
ABOUT THE STEELERS (1-0): Speaking of quarterback-wide receiver tandems, Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown are as potent as they come as the former threw for three touchdowns versus the Redskins and connected eight times for 126 yards and two scores with the latter. Roethlisberger owns a 19-7 record versus Cincinnati with an 87.5 quarterback rating and 34 touchdowns and Brown has reeled in 36 receptions for 498 yards and two scores in his last five encounters with the Bengals. The two have been on the receiving end of big hits by the Bengals -- most notably Burfict -- but Roethlisberger dismissed the notion of retaliation, "That's not who we are. It's a physical football game and a physical division," he said. "That's what we expect, a physical football game - clean."
EXTRA POINTS
1. Pittsburgh LB Ryan Shazier, who had an interception last week, recorded 13 tackles and two forced fumbles in the wild-card game versus Cincinnati.
2. The Bengals mustered just 57 yards on the ground in their season opener and will face a Steelers club that yielded just 55 last week.
3. Cincinnati DT Geno Atkins has collected six sacks in the past eight meetings and Pittsburgh DE Cameron Heyward has four in his last five.