Cincinnati Bengals: Keys to victory vs. Steelers in Week 6
By Kenn Korb
Prediction
Pittsburgh has always dominated this rivalry. Cincinnati’s never led the series; the best they’ve been all-time is 1-1. Under Marvin Lewis, the Bengals are 8-24 against Pittsburgh (including 0-2 in the playoffs). Since Andy Dalton was drafted, they are 3-12 (0-1 in playoffs).
The Bengals have almost never been able to get a foothold over their rivals, and especially in recent years this matchup has consistently produced some of the most brutal battles, leaving the Bengals every bit as bloody and broken as their record in the matchup would seem to indicate.
Something seems different this time around, however. The team has at times been nearly as impressive on offense as they were in their exciting 2015 iteration — a season where Dalton was a dark horse MVP candidate before getting hurt (of course, against these same Steelers) and missing the final chunk of that season and the playoffs. They may have even more exciting pieces to work with on defense than that previous team, too.
Most of all, the demeanor of the team is at a level we’ve never seen under Lewis. Even in 2015, they didn’t seem to have the sort of calm demeanor built in which steadies them at important moments, nor did they ever have anything close to the killer instinct this year’s squad has been showing so far this season.
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On the other side, the Steelers are as vulnerable as they’ve ever been. The defense has huge holes to deal with, The offense is still great, but is still missing Bell and Roethlisberger can be forced into more mistakes (particularly on the road) than he used to commit.
It won’t be pretty (when is it ever when these two meet?), but the Bengals have the players, the mindset, and the home field; put those factors together, and it gives them enough to finally throw another win on their tally against their hated rivals.
Final Score: Cincinnati 24, Pittsburgh 20