Through his first game and a half as a Raven, Mallett had distinguished himself by being able to buy time in the pocket and throw the ball hard into tight windows. The Steelers play at the Bengals at 8:15 Eastern Time Saturday Night.
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“I just come in and go to work during the week and if I am (the starter), I am”, said McCarron, who completed 17 of 27 passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns Sunday.
They also signed kicker Zach Hocker, who kicked against the Bengals for the Rams five weeks ago in the Bengals’ 31-7 victory at PBS. But Russell Wilson and Co. are considered one of the favorites to win the championship after reaching the Super Bowl in two consecutive years.
Cincinnati holds on in finale against Baltimore, posting third 12-win season in franchise history, but settles for No. 3 playoff seed. “I think if you don’t turn the ball over in this league, you put your team in a situation to win the ballgame and that’s what it comes down to”.
There was a question who the Bengals would start at QB with Andy Dalton nursing a broken thumb, but Marvin Lewis provided an answer by saying AJ McCarron, not Dalton, will start vs. the Steelers. Dalton is scheduled for an exam on Monday and is hoping to return at some point in the postseason.
The win showed that Cincinnati will need to play the most fundamentally sound football they’ve ever played to advance past the first round of the playoffs for the first time in decades. The Broncos could clinch a bye against San Diego later Sunday. They upset Pittsburgh the previous week, but couldn’t knock off another division rival. He had a 38-yard touchdown run on a fourth-down play. Line: +2.5 Last week: Bengals beat Baltimore 24-16; Steelers beat Cleveland 28-12.
McCarron made his first start at Paul Brown Stadium – and did enough to get the win. He didn’t have any problems with his sore left wrist, injured while trying to recover his game-ending fumble in Denver.
The Ravens – authors of the league’s best pass defense during the season’s second half – got off to a fine start defensively, continuing the momentum it had built for itself down the season’s homestretch.
“A lot of it has to do with us dealing with him every day in practice”, said cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick, a teammate of McCarron’s at Alabama. Cast your vote and sound off on your selection for the Bengals’ Week 17 Play of the Game! Eifert had four receptions for 52 yards and his 13th touchdown of the season.
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During his weekly press conference, head coach Mike Tomlin was asked what he had seen from McCarron since the Week 14 match-up against the Bengals. He also had 2 touchdowns along with 2 interceptions, one of which was a William Gay pick-six. Since 2011, not only are they 0-4 in the postseason, but they have won just four of their 10 games played in primetime, including one win and three losses in 2015. It’s probably a compliment to not only to him and his preparation, his ability to learn and prepare on a limited number of snaps, but also to their coaching staff. Hugh Jackson and those guys, they’re teachers.
