With the Steelers’ attention focused on Green, Lafell could have some positive matchups.
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Cincy quarterback Andy Dalton was lost for the remainder of the season with a broken thumb in the December 13 matchup. “It was big”, Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said.
Dennard, who suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in Week 11 previous year and then injured his ankle August 1 during training camp, was a full participant for all three practices this week. Regardless of what sort of lip service the teams and league are giving this game, you can expect to see more emotion, whistle-blowing and flag-throwing than in most games you’ll watch this year. We know the Steelers will be able to move the ball through the air – they’re one of the NFL’s best at that – but if they can pair that attack with a solid running game that attacks a linebacker core that is clearly missing its best player, it could well tilt the contest in Pittsburgh’s favor.
So who really cared when the two teams got together?
Williams pounded his way to 143 yards in Week 1.
That’s a lot of production to make up for.
Center Maurkice Pouncey, and guards David DeCastro and Ramon Foster, will need to continue to open holes in the middle of the field against the Bengals.
In the secondary, Cincinnati bid farewell to two stalwarts in Leon Hall and Reggie Nelson. He had 5-71-1 receiving in playoff loss to Steelers.
Run at the Steelers: Bengals offensive coordinator said he did what he had to do to beat the Jets in only calling for 19 run plays in week one, including two by receiver James Wright.
But Cincinnati’s biggest defensive loss is undeniably Vontaze Burfict. Burfict is serving a three-game suspension that came as part of the fallout of his vicious hit on Brown.
Dalton only played one full game against the Steelers last season and that was the one game the Bengals won, 16-10.
With Eifert officially ruled out and playing in a traditionally rough-and-tumble game on the road, I’d advise against starting the Red Rifle, as the Steelers in Pittsburgh will once again muzzle him. It’s vital the Bengals not only bottle up Williams, but also keep Roethlisberger, one of the NFL’s great ad-lib artists, in the pocket. A playoff game they had all but won before a fumble by Jeremy Hill and two boneheaded penalties by the defense enable the Steelers to come back and win.
At tight end, the Steelers lost the dependable Heath Miller to retirement. The play-calling is going to need to seriously improve if they want to be more productive between the tackles. The pass rush (stunk). We’ve just got to go out there and play.
“It was a huge game for him”, Wheaton said. He’s emerged as arguably Pittsburgh’s best defensive playmaker and losing him would prove tough to overcome.
Did you happen to experience the renewal of the Pitt-Penn State football rivalry last weekend in front of the largest crowd for a Pittsburgh sports event ever? But that’s far from the case.
Projected FF stat line: 236 yards passing, one touchdown, three interceptions, three sacks.
The Bengals’ offensive line struggled hugely against a better push than the Steelers will provide today, but the Jets didn’t have the speed and athleticism of Shazier among their linebackers.
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What Williams said next harkened back to that old-school football mentality the NFL may be trying to get away from, but Williams did not care.
