Week 13 – Steelers
Looks like the Bengals team we expected to see all season decided to come home for Thanksgiving, we’ll see if they stick around for a while or disappear again until Christmas. The Bengals also pulled another reversal on us this week. Against the Cards, it was supposed to be the Bengals winning due to consistent QB play and lack of INTs, but Carson Palmer played the role of Kurt Warner. For the Titans, the Bengals were supposed to have trouble with the three-headed rushing monster and the tough defensive front 7. Instead, it was Rudi, Dede and Watson leading the Bengals to a 152 yard rushing day while the defense held the Titans to 61 yards rushing. 152 rushing yards for the Bengals is a huge day considering their rushing yards for the last 5 games has been 91(Steelers), 28(Bills), 70(Ravens), 72(Cards), and 152(Titans). We’ll see if the Bengals can continue the reversal trend this week against the Steelers with the defense going blitz and turnover crazy while the offense pounds the run and throws the ball 15 times. Palmer could even put on 20 pounds, smash his face into a wall, and start rockin a waste length gold necklace while clownin’ chocolates with his boy D-Hall.

Keys to the Game.
The Steelers have not played well lately, but they are still in prime position for a playoff birth. The Bengals have been playing better, but would need a miraculous collapse from multiple teams in order to make the playoffs. Even with the current trends, the Steelers are still favored at home by 7 points. The over/under might be 10 after seeing the Heinz Field conditions on Monday night. The field looked more like 100 yards of Heinz Spicy Brown Mustard than a professional football field. Playing in that sloppy mess should benefit the Steelers power game. The Bengals should hope for cold weather as hard ground still allows players to move, while slimy mud will slow down the receivers and make quick cuts impossible. The Monday Night Football game was the 6th game played on the natural grass field in 4 days, in Pittsburgh, in late November, in the rain. Seriously, which is the more asinine decision, the Rooney’s to share the stadium with the University of Pittsburgh football team while also allowing high school games to be played on Heinz’s natural grass, or the Brown’s who let basically nobody use Paul Brown Stadium and its artificial grass?

When the Steelers have the ball: The Bengals defense has put together a decent stretch of games, but I am not ready to jump on the bandwagon just yet. They shut down the Ravens which, with McNair at QB, were the worst NFL offense in 10 years; and, if not for a missed FG by Neil Rackers, the Cardinals would have converted on 4 of their first 5 drives for 24 points against the Bengals before going into run out the clock mode. Against the Titans, the defense luckily ran into an injured Vince Young, obviously limping at some points, who refused to run and notched only 2 rush attempts. As a passer, Vince Young missed more then a few wide open receivers which could have put points on the board. So while the defense held the Titans to 6 points, the game could have looked much different if the Titans were able to capitalize on the openings they had. A notable difference in the defense that could bring success, though, has been the play of the LBs. Dhani Jones is a solid pro, and the return of Rashad Jeanty has solidified the unit. Adding Landon Johnson to the mix, the Bengals can now put three viable NFL level starters at LB. The consistency in the middle helps the other levels perform their duties at a higher level. We will see this week against the Steelers whether the Bengals defense is actually improving or just benefitting from a scheduling anomaly. Last time the Bengals played the Steelers, the Steelers ran for 161 yards and Hines Ward caught 2 TDs. Everyone knows what the Steelers will do, it is up to the Bengals defense to stop the run which takes away the play action pass. Once the Steelers are forced to become a drop back passing team, bad things usually follow.

When the Bengals have the ball: Last time the Bengals played the Steelers, Kenny Watson was able to run for 88 yards on 19 carries which is a quality day against the Steelers #1 defense. The Bengals offense also had a fairly successful game overall as they scored on 50% of their drives that day. The problem was that the Steelers controlled the clock and limited the Bengals to 6 offensive possessions, and forced field goals instead of allowing TDs. Now that the Bengals employ the 3 RB attack, fresh legs in the red zone should help them to push more drives to TDs instead of trotting Gingerballs out onto the field. We will see if the improving Bengals defense can force the Steelers to pass or punt and allow the Bengals offense more opportunities to score.

What you do want to see: Roethlisberger continue to be a moron:


What you don’t want to see: Typical Pittsburgh residents. You never want to see them. Anywhere.