The NFL assigns all-star crews to playoff games, so it won’t be the same group of officials, but Parry will be in charge again. If the secondary underperforms, this game could end up in a shootout. McCarron also expressed that he did not feel he took good care of the football the last time he faced the Steelers as the backup.
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Sunday marked the three-week point since Dalton fractured the thumb on December 13 against the Steelers. Brown had 51 catches for 642 yards and five touchdowns in five games last month, and Boswell made 12 field goals…. He phoned his concerns to Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin the morning after and his players have said they’ve discussed it among themselves.
“That’s about when I found out was late, I wasn’t paying attention to the scoreboard, I had enough to worry about with what was going on on the field with us”, Roethlisberger said.
In the end this game could come down to whether or not the Bengals can hold the Steelers offence in check, and whether McCarron is ready to shoulder the load for the Bengals. The Bengals started off the season superbly being at one point one of just 3 unbeaten teams.
Green Bay at Washington: The Packers have struggled down the stretch, and Aaron Rodgers definitely misses Jordy Nelson. “Offensively, we’re doing some really good things”. “And when you have opportunity, take it away”, said Lewis, when asked what it will take to beat a division rival that has lost just three times in PBS since it opened in 2000. Jeremy Hill who rushed for a season-high 96 yards last week could factor heavily for Cincinnati. Now that Andy Dalton has his cast off, the possibility of the “Red Rifle” starting in the first round of the NFL Playoffs seems to have some real potential.
Experience and lack of turnovers. There should be a lot of points scored in this game.
“I don’t know [where it is]”, McCarron said. “Their ball security all the time, practice, everything you do”, Lewis said. From the huddle calls to where he’s going to be – and all those kinds of things. He also had a blocked punt and a special teams forced fumble. I anticipate McCarron starting and playing this week. Cincinnati has 35 players who have seen action in two or more playoff games, compared to just 19 for the Steelers. It should absolutely be a part of any National Football League fan’s plans on Saturday evening.
Steelers (-3) at Bengals: The Steelers have to be the Bengals’ worst nightmare.
McCarron, in his second-year out of Alabama, relieved Dalton for the final three quarters against the Steelers and then started the final three games of the regular season. Save for a botched snap which led the Bengals losing in overtime against the Denver Broncos in Week 16, McCarron hasn’t turned the ball over and has posted an impressive 100.1 passer rating.
The two wins came against the helpless San Francisco 49ers who ended up an 5-11 record and the 5-11 Baltimore Ravens.
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The numbers suggest the Bengals are due on several fronts. Dalton was having an MVP-caliber season before injuring his thumb a few weeks ago, and his status is uncertain at best for this game against Pittsburgh. But he’s not making it personal. “That’s all. It’s important to win and move on”.
