Pittsburgh Steelers set to battle Cincinnati Bengals on MNF
The Pittsburgh Steelers enter their game Monday night as the number two seed in the AFC. The Patriots won Sunday so the Steelers need a win Monday to maintain their number one seeding for another week.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have a tough three weeks looming. They take on Cincinnati on Monday Night Football before hosting Baltimore and New England in back to back weeks.
The Steelers know these games are key if they wish to lock up a number one seed. With the Steelers currently at 9-2, they need a win against Cincinnati to keep pace in the race.
The Bengals will not make it easy on Pittsburgh. The Bengals are a much different team since the two clashed in week seven.
The play of Andy Dalton has been better over the last few weeks as has the play of Joe Mixon. The Bengals offensive line is still a weak point, however, which the Steelers can exploit with their front seven.
The Steelers will be without corner Joe Haden again this week and likely will be missing Mike Mitchell and Vance McDonald as well. The biggest injury question, however, is that of Antonio Brown.
Brown has dealt with a toe injury that kept him from practicing Friday and Saturday. He is considered questionable and will be a game time decision.
The loss of Brown would be huge in essentially a “must-win” game. Brown being out would drastically change the offensive approach the Steelers would have.
The key tonight, Brown or no Brown, will be the defensive front wreaking havoc at the line of scrimmage. The secondary is worn thin this week so the Steelers front will need to apply pressure and not allow Dalton to get comfortable.
If Brown indeed cannot go, we will likely see JuJu Smith-Schuster and Martavis Bryant become the top two receivers. Darrius Heyward-Bey and Eli Rogers will likely get more snaps as well to help fill the void.
The Steelers will need to play disciplined defense and control the line of scrimmage on both sides to win tonight. The Bengals will not lay down nor will they go down easily.
Divisional match-ups are always tough games regardless of record or standings. The Bengals Steelers rivalry is especially hot ever since the infamous wildcard game in 2015.
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If Pittsburgh wants to keep the pace in the race for the number one seed, they must win this game. If they don’t, it will be that much harder to gain the top spot and home field advantage throughout the playoffs.