Steelers vs. Bengals: Five questions with Stripe Hype
By Kim Myers
The Steelers and Bengals face off in a pivotal December game in an AFC rivalry that seems to be renewing.
The Steelers have to win in order to keep themselves involved in the logjam of teams fighting over the two AFC wild card spots while the Bengals would love a win to claim the AFC North division in the hopes of earning a first-round bye.
Throughout the season Still Curtain will be taking you inside to get the dirt on the opposing team through the FanSided network. We’ll be interviewing the opposing teams’ site to get you the inside info on the opposition.
This week we have Matthew Wilson, editor of Stripe Hype, FanSided’s Cincinnati Bengals-themed site. Matthew gives us the info on the renewed Steelers and Bengals rivalry along with a prediction for the game with score.
This game is quickly turning into a heated rivalry again, which is good for everyone I think. Will this translate into the new Steelers and Ravens rivalry for the AFC North, meaning it will spill out into the playoffs?
I think in a lot of ways it passed the Steelers-Ravens, especially after the last game, when the Steelers lost Le’Veon Bell in a freak tackle incident. It was the beginning of the end for either team to look at this game as another divisional match up.
Both teams should be hoping to come out of this game healthy, especially with both hoping for an extension of their season into the playoffs. The big question will be who wants this more and who thinks they are playing for more.
How can the Bengals secondary neutralize all of the Steeler’s offensive weapons with a banged-up Adam Jones and Leon Hall?
Leon Hall is seemingly back. He practiced in full on Friday and as long as there are no setbacks, he should go. Adam Jones did not practice at all but his cast was off on Thursday, so I don’t think he will play. This is a bigger blow to the secondary but not something they can’t overcome. Dre Kirkpatrick, Leon Hall and Josh Shaw are all talented corners, who can make a difference.
Let’s also not forget that Reggie Nelson leads the NFL in interceptions and George Iloka is one of the most talented safeties in the league both will be over the top options to shut down the Steelers deep game. I wouldn’t be surprised if Ben did test this secondary early though.
Last game we were expecting an offensive shoot-out and got a 16-10 game. Will it be another defensive battle or will the offenses finally take over?
I think this time will be a duel of the offenses. Both defenses have seen some wear and injuries that could play into what both teams can do. I think that will certainly effect the game, and with Dalton and Big Ben getting more and more comfortable with deep passes, it could become a battle of the passing game.
Who has to step up for the Bengals to pull out the win?
The entire offense will need to be sharp and on its game, no quitting on routes, no dropping passes that are “catchable.” If they can play like they did against Cleveland or St. Louis, they should be fine and it really will come down to who makes the least amount of mistakes.
What is your prediction with score for the game?
Predicting an offensive shootout is difficult, I am going to go with the Bengals to clinch the AFC North and win 31 – 28.
There you have it Steeler Nation, what would you have asked about the Bengals?
Check out Stripe Hype for my answers to Matthew’s questions.
Here we go Steelers! Here we go!