Bell, Steelers face Bengals today
MEMORABLE SERIES MOMENT
Bengals 27, Steelers 9
Oct. 19, 1995 at Three Rivers Stadium
The Steelers have beaten the Bengals in their last four October home meetings since losing this one in 1995 to fall to 3-4, the low point of that season. Jeff Blake threw three touchdown passes to three different receivers, but Darnay Scott, Tony McGee and Carl Pickens all beat the same guy — Alvoid Mays, who was filling in for Rod Woodson for a sixth consecutive game. This would be the last NFL start for Mays, because Bill Cowher moved Carnell Lake from strong safety to cornerback the next week and the Steelers went on to lose only a meaningless regular-season finale at Green Bay and the Super Bowl to Dallas.
TALE OF THE TAPE
“You know the saying about having no quarterbacks if you’re using two. Well, the same goes for tackles if you’re rotating three, which is what the Bengals do. The match-up in particular I’m looking forward to is Cedric Ogbuehi against James Harrison. Obguehi is made to order for a bull-rusher. He plays high, he turns his body parallel to the sideline, he drops his hands down, and I’ve seen him get bull-rushed by lesser rushers than James. That’s the classic match-up if James gets a chance to get a push on him, and even with the dancing bear, Andre Smith, their swing tackle. That would be another good match-up because, again, James could throw weight, no dip, just rip because Andre tends to get a little head-heavy. T.J. Watt will certainly do fine with either guy, but I really think there’s an opportunity to have another key match-up on third-down end in a possible sack, strip, lost ball, holding call, whatever, with Ogbuehi and Harrison.” — Steelers Radio analyst Craig Wolfley.
TOP QUESTION
Can the Steelers run the ball and stay healthy?
The Steelers are at their best when their running game’s cranked up, as Le’Veon Bell proved against the Bengals in 2014 when he rushed for 185 yards and added another 50 receiving. But in the next game he was belted in the knee by safety Reggie Nelson and missed the following week’s playoff loss. In 2015, Bell was belted in the knee by Vontaze Burfict and lost for the rest of the season. The Bengals are the second-ranked run defense by average per carry (2.8), but Bell has been hot of late, rushing for 370 yards (4.5 avg.) in the last three games. He said that all of the Bengals have targeted him over the years, and said, “I’m going to protect myself, play hard and try to get the W.”
THREE QUESTIONS: With WR JUJU SMITH-SCHUSTER
Q: Did you get your license yet?
JS: “No not yet. Still working on that. It’s getting colder every morning. I drive my bike down the hill, so I gotta do it soon. I’m gonna go to REI and get a hoodie, some gloves. I think I’ll be good, but other than that, yeah, I gotta work on my license.”
Q: How much do you have left to do?
JS: “I’ve got to study. I’m on page 12 out of 105. It takes a while. There’s a lot of signals, many signs.”
Q: Which hill are you pedaling down?
JS: “You know that little trail right here? The Heritage Trail? I take that down going full speed, but it gets cooooold. Ears get cooooold. I usually come in around 7:30-8.”
GAME BREAKDOWN
What to look for from the Steelers today at 4:25 at Heinz Field:
ON OFFENSE:
The Bengals are the No. 2 defense in the NFL, but two possible points of attack are second-year cornerback William Jackson, who’s in for injured Pacman Jones, and defensive tackle Geno Atkins, who, while leading the Bengals with four sacks, doesn’t have the lateral quickness he had before tearing his ACL in 2013. The Steelers like to run wide on the Bengals, and Atkins is part of the reason. “Still very strong. Still plays with great leverage,” said Wolfley. “But when he’s at that point in a play where you become a little reckless, he doesn’t throw his body around as much as he used to. He gathers himself into a posture of strength and balance and protects himself, almost like he’s watching out for that knee.”
ON DEFENSE:
Joe Mixon came into the league with raves — but only for his play. Off the field, a domestic violence issue caused him to fall to the middle of the second round and the Bengals, as they do, brought him on board. Mixon’s only averaging 2.8 yards per carry, and as a team the Bengals are 30th in the league at 3.2 per carry. Without Stephon Tuitt — out with a back injury — the Steelers have allowed opposing rushers 4.7 yards per carry, but 4.8 with him, so the loss could be minimal against Mixon. In the passing game, Andy Dalton will lean on A.J. Green with Tyler Boyd and TE Tyler Eifert out. Green’s personal nemesis since his college days has been Steelers cornerback Joe Haden.
PREDICTION
Should the Bengals avoid the pass rush with their weak tackles, and run the ball better than they have at any point in the season, they have a bigger problem in close than do the Steelers. The Bengals are last in red-zone offense, converting only 40 percent of their chances into touchdowns. So I look for the Steelers to find ways to finish with a hot Bell and receivers coming off a great week of practice. … Steelers, 23-17.
BY THE NUMBERS
2: Receptions needed by Bell to pass Plaxico Burress (264) for ninth-most in team history.
32:12: Average time of possession by the Steelers, third-best in the NFL.
34: Consecutive games with sacks by the Bengals to lead the NFL.
48: Receptions by Antonio Brown to lead the NFL.
1,314: Yards allowed by Bengals, fewest allowed in team’s first five games since 1976.
DOWNLOADS
n The Steelers have the mindset to ignore the notoriously dirty Burfict. Maurkice Pouncey typified the attitude when asked about one of the Bengals linebacker’s signature moves: stomping on ankle insteps. “I just play football,” Pouncey said. “He does some little antics to try to get you going, but, I mean, who cares? You know how many times I get stepped on? Look at this right here. That happened today.”
n The Steelers are 3-1 with both Tuitt and Heyward playing together on the defensive line the last two years. Earlier in the week, when he thought he was going to play, Tuitt was excited. “It’s not only both of us, but we’ve got (Javon) Hargrave,” Tuitt said. “Hargrave is really good at getting to the quarterback from that zero technique. You’ve also got Tyson Alualu, who does a really good job. But when me and Cam are in the game, it’s really hard for an offense to double-team just one of us because one of us can be real disruptive.”
n The Bengals have won their last two games after an 0-3 start and are coming off a bye week. But under Marvin Lewis the Bengals are only 5-8-1 out of a bye. That didn’t comfort Ben Roethlisberger. “You expect something new,” Roethlisberger said. “Whether it’s a new blitz, or a new look, new plays on offense, whatever it is. They have had a week headstart on us, so it’s just another eight ball that we are behind.”
n Haden has covered Green since the two played at Florida and Georgia, respectively, in college. Haden’s physical play has been an admitted disruption to Green. “We’ve had a lot of battles,” Haden said. “I’m not going to say I shut him down. He’s definitely gotten the better of me a couple times. It’s just a battle I always look forward to. Same thing with Antonio, twice a year I used to follow him and twice a year I follow A.J. I just look forward to playing the best of the best. I just play my best against these dudes.”
n Todd Haley hadn’t heard about the alleged Martavis Bryant trade request before it was reported Sunday night. Nor was Haley all that impressed with a couple of Bryant catches this week that left many Steelers awestuck. “I remember the diving catch,” Haley said with a shrug. “He usually makes about one of those a day. But we need it to show up on Sunday.”
PARTING SHOT
“It’s the nature of the business nowadays, like ESPN used to be about sports. Now it’s just drama. It’s a lot of talk that’s not about football. It’s the way it is nowadays. I don’t know if it’s society or what it is.” — David DeCastro.