McCarron, to start when the Bengals face off against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round of the playoffs this Saturday, the first action the young quarterback will have against the Steelers since he was thrust into the starting role due to Dalton’s injury this past month. As an analyst for CBS Sports on THE NFL TODAY, Cowher now gets to watch all teams around the NFL, but still knows what the Steelers are all about. That said, I do believe the Bengals have known all week about their plan at quarterback. “There’s going to be different stuff that goes on”.
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With the team now locked into the sixth seed, Roethlisberger was asked if the message to the team is to make the most out of a second chance thanks to the Bills. The Steelers won that game and eventually the Super Bowl that year.
It has become clearer as the game draws nearer that Cincinnati will depend on McCarron to lead its offense for the fourth game in a row.
If/when that happens, it will add another interesting chapter to the quarterbacks’ relationship-one that goes back more than a decade. “On the opening drive, Antonio [Brown] fumbles, you don’t expect that. We weren’t as thrilled with some of his decisions his first opportunity”, Lewis said of that game against Pittsburgh. We had some long drives, some good third down conversions. “The more reps I get, the more comfortable I am and the more chemistry we create as an offense”. McCarron is obviously more prepared this time around. “I think having experience playing in big games in bigger stadiums and it’s a lot louder and the stakes at Alabama are pretty wild, I think it helps”.
“On defense they’ve got really good pass rushers with (Tamba) Hali and Houston and they’ve got a good secondary playing at a high level, their linebackers fly around, their front seven is really, really good”. If Roethlisberger and Brown develop a rhythm in the game, the Steelers could roll, even without any real running game.
“DeAngelo has been awesome for this team”, Ben told us.
BC: “I do think so”. So can Cincinnati take out the team that’s owned them over the years? Camp practices aren’t as intense as preseason games, which aren’t as intense as regular season games.
“He needs to understand that, and this is coming from love from me and other guys, that this time of year, you’ve got to toughen up”.
One of the league’s more decorated franchises visits Paul Brown Stadium on Saturday night with AJ McCarron taking the snaps for the Bengals, but a game manager might be just the kind of quarterback to best deal with the Steelers’ give-and-take defense. “I don’t know what his availability will be in terms of the game”. Bryant had two catches on four targets in the final two weeks and didn’t score in the last four contests after scoring 14 times in his first 17 National Football League games. The Bengals also would like to establish a running game to take some pressure off AJ McCarron. “It’s an important game for our football team because it keeps our goals in line”. If Andy Dalton returns, though, we’ll downgrade the Steelers and look elsewhere for a value D/ST. Pittsburgh on the other hand is still led by the eternal thorn in the Bengals side, Ben Roethlisberger.
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“It’s going to be unfortunate if Andy (Dalton) can’t go”, said left tackle Andrew Whitworth.
