Bengals vs. Steelers: Complete Week 17 Preview for Pittsburgh
The NFL felt the playoff-bound Pittsburgh Steelers were ready for prime time.
The league flexed their Week 17 game, so the Steelers (10-5) will play the Cincinnati Bengals (10-4-1) under the Sunday night lights at Heinz Field (8:30 p.m. ET, NBC).
It remains to be seen whether the Steelers (10-5) are prime-time enough to make a long playoff run. A win Sunday night would make their playoff mission easier, even if the do-or-die pressure of needing a win to make the playoffs has been lifted.
The AFC North title is at stake, and with it the No. 3 seed in the AFC.
If the Steelers beat the Bengals, they will host a Wild Card Game against the Chargers, Ravens, Chiefs or Texans. Those four teams are fighting for the final playoff spot.
The Bengals could even earn a first-round bye if they win and Oakland wins at Denver, according to Pro Football Talk. The Steelers can't get a first-round bye.
Whichever team loses Sunday night travels to Indianapolis to face the fourth-seeded Colts in the Wild Card Round.
The Steelers can only get the No. 3 or No. 5 seed, according to MakeNFLPlayoffs.com. Being the No. 5 seed didn't work out too well the last time the Steelers made the playoffs, and that was against Tim Tebow. Andrew Luck would present a stiffer challenge. The Steelers beat the Colts this season, but that was in Pittsburgh.
Now that the Steelers have ended their three-year playoff drought, the next hurdle to clear is winning a playoff game, which they haven't done since 2010.
To avoid a one-and-done, the Steelers have a better chance against a six- or seven-loss team at home than they would at Indy.
The Steelers punched their playoff ticket last weekend. A win on Sunday would help them write their playoff ticket.
Week 16 Recap
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Even though the Steelers are one win away from matching the 2005 team with four straight wins to close out the regular season, these are not the 2005 Steelers.
However, the Steelers' dominating defense in their 20-12 win over the Kansas City Chiefs last Sunday was a nice salute to the Super Bowl XL champions.
The Steelers offense carried the team to the cusp of the playoffs, and the defense made the final push to get it in.
Pittsburgh clinched a playoff berth and allowed fewer than 20 points for just the third time this season and for the first time against a team with a winning record. The Steelers allowed 19 points at Carolina in Week 3 and nine points at Jacksonville in Week 5.
Since caving in for a season-high 35 points against the Saints in Week 13, the Steelers have become stingier every week during their three-game winning streak. The Bengals scored 21 on them, the Falcons scored 20, and the Chiefs scored 12.
The Chiefs' 39 rushing yards also were the fewest allowed by the Steelers this season. Jamaal Charles, who has run for 3,775 yards over the past three seasons, gained just 29 in Pittsburgh.
The Steelers sacked Alex Smith six times. Jason Worilds had two of those sacks. James Harrison, who was on that 2005 team, and Cameron Heyward both had 1.5 sacks. Rookie Stephon Tuitt had the other.
Andy Dalton was the last quarterback the Steelers sacked six times. That came in Week 16 of the 2012 season, when the Bengals beat the Steelers 13-10 and eliminated them from playoff contention.
The Bengals can't do that on Sunday. The Steelers have their playoff spot secured. And they showed last week that maybe, just maybe, they have the kind of defense that can help them win a game or two in January.
News and Notes
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Site Says Colts Are Steelers' Most Likely Wild-Card Opponent
The software that crunches the numbers for the website MakeNFLPlayoffs.com favors the Bengals to win Sunday. It gives the Bengals a 50.1 percent chance of winning the AFC North and the Steelers a 49.9 percent chance.
That means a Wild Card Game at Indianapolis is the Steelers' most probable wild-card assignment. There's a 50 percent chance of that happening, according to the site.
The Steelers can't get a first-round bye, so they'll play a Wild Card Game regardless of what happens Sunday night. Here is a list of their possible wild-card opponents along with their chances of facing that team next weekend, according to MakeNFLPlayoffs.com.
| Team | Probability |
| Colts | 50 percent |
| Chargers | 25 percent |
| Ravens | 12.52 percent |
| Chiefs | 6.23 percent |
| Texans | 6.20 percent |
| Bengals | 0.11 percent |
The Steelers would play the Chargers, Ravens, Chiefs or Texans at Heinz Field if they win Sunday and earn the No. 3 seed.
The only way the Steelers would play the Bengals in a Wild Card Game would be if they tie Sunday. In that case, the Bengals would win the division, get the No. 4 seed and host the Steelers.
Bengals Ailing
A.J. Green's right arm and a flu bug have been the Bengals' biggest injury concerns this week.
Green bruised his right biceps Monday night against the Bengals and missed practice time this week, but he's listed as probable on the Bengals' injury report, according to FoxSports.com, after going through a full practice on Friday.
Six Bengals are on the injury report because of a flu bug that has spread throughout the locker room. Cornerbacks Adam Jones, Terence Newman and Chris Lewis-Harris and safety Reggie Nelson are questionable. Guard Clint Boling and kicker Mike Nugent are probable.
Bob Holtzman of ESPN tweeted about some of the precautions the Bengals are taking.
"With 8 players ill this week (4 of them listed as questionable) #Bengals took no chances..I'm told some players wore masks on flight to Pitt
— bob holtzman (@BobHoltzmanESPN) December 28, 2014"
Quarterback Andy Dalton and tight end Jermaine Gresham missed practice Wednesday with the illness, but both were back at practice Thursday. Unlike the Steelers, the Bengals practiced on Christmas Day.
Bell Named Team MVP
The Steelers voted running back Le'Veon Bell as their Most Valuable Player Tuesday, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Bell, a second-round draft pick in 2013, is second in the NFL with 1,341 rushing yards. He's been valuable not only running the ball but also filling the void as the Steelers' No. 2 receiving option behind Antonio Brown.
The Steelers entered the season with a lot of question marks concerning wide receiver depth. But Bell answered many of those questions by essentially becoming the Steelers' second-best receiver behind Brown, catching 77 passes for 774 yards. Bell holds single-season franchise records for receptions by a running back and yards from scrimmage (2,115).
Bell posted more than 200 yards from scrimmage in three straight games this season. Walter Payton was the only other player to do that.
5 Steelers Named to Pro Bowl
The Steelers' 2014 MVP joins four teammates in the Pro Bowl.
Le'Veon Bell, Antonio Brown, Ben Roethlisberger, Maurkice Pouncey and Lawrence Timmons are the Steelers' Pro Bowl representatives, according to NFL.com.
Brown is receiving his third Pro Bowl honor. He's caught 122 passes this season and needs two receptions Sunday to move into second place on the all-time list for a single season. Marvin Harrison holds the record with 143 receptions for the Colts in 2002.
Roethlisberger earned his third Pro Bowl nod. He is second in the NFL with a career-high 4,635 passing yards. He needs 365 yards Sunday to become the sixth quarterback to throw for 5,000 yards in a season. Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Dan Marino and Matthew Stafford are the others.
Roethlisberger has thrown for 365 yards or more three times this season. He threw for 350 three weeks ago in Cincinnati. He's two touchdown passes away from tying his career high of 32, which he set in 2007.
Pouncey makes the Pro Bowl for the fourth time. He's made it every year in his career except last season, when he went down for the year in Week 1 with a knee injury.
Like Bell, Timmons is being selected to the Pro Bowl for the first time. The 28-year-old inside linebacker leads the Steelers with 121 tackles, almost twice as many as both William Gay and Mike Mitchell, who are tied for second with 66 tackles apiece. That ranks Timmons ninth in the NFL.
Cases could have been made for defensive end Cameron Heyward and guard David DeCastro. Heyward and Jason Worilds are tied for the team lead with 6.5 sacks, and Heyward has 35 quarterback hurries according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). J.J. Watt is the only 3-4 defensive end who has more.
Jim Wexell of Steel City Insider tweeted about DeCastro's snub:
"Yes, David DeCastro deserved to be chosen for the Pro Bowl. But if he's on that Faneca timeline we talked about, next year starts the run.
— James C Wexell (@jimwexell) December 24, 2014"
Foster Fined
Steelers guard Ramon Foster was fined $8,268, according to Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, for his actions that led to an unnecessary roughness penalty after Shaun Suisham kicked a field goal in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game against the Chiefs.
Foster shoved the Chiefs' Kevin Vickerson when he apparently thought Vickerson pushed Kelvin Beachum after Suisham's kick, and a melee ensued.
Cornerback William Gay wasn't fined for his taunting penalty earlier in the fourth quarter. Gay folded his arms and looked toward Lawrence Timmons after the Steelers linebacker tackled Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce to force a punt. Gay wasn't facing any Chiefs player and didn't seem to be addressing any Chiefs player. The Chiefs were given a first down on the penalty, however, and eventually kicked a field goal to pull to within 17-9.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin called the penalty on Gay "ridiculous" according to the Post-Gazette.
Injury Report
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| Player | Position | Injury Status (through Fri) |
| Ike Taylor | CB | Questionable (shoulder, forearm) |
| Troy Polamalu | S | Questionable (knee) |
| Kelvin Beachum | OT | Probable (back) |
| Michael Palmer | TE | Questionable (groin) |
| Matt Spaeth | TE | Probable (elbow) |
| Vince Williams | ILB | Probable (ankle) |
Inside linebacker Vince Williams injured his ankle Sunday, and left tackle Kelvin Beachum injured his lower back, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
The Steelers didn't practice Thursday because of Christmas and held their final practice of the week on Friday. They have to wait and see on Ike Taylor and Troy Polamalu. Taylor has missed the last two games, and Polamalu sat out last week. Both players are clearly past their prime, but of the two, Polamalu is the one who might have enough left in the tank to contribute in the playoffs.
Steelers.com was used for injury report information.
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X-Factor and Matchups to Watch
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Le'Veon Bell vs. Rey Maualuga
Le'Veon Bell ran for 185 yards and two touchdowns and caught six passes for 50 yards and a touchdown the last time the Steelers and Bengals met.
Since then, Bell has run for 47 yards at Atlanta and 63 last week against Kansas City.
Middle linebacker Rey Maualuga and the rest of the Bengals defense might have seen some film from those games to get some ideas.
Maualuga missed four games with a hamstring injury this season, and the Bengals allowed more than 100 rushing yards in all four games. When he returned for the Bengals' Week 11 game at New Orleans, the Bengals allowed just 75 yards on the ground, including 67 from Mark Ingram. The Bengals won that game 27-10.
The Bengals are allowing 122.1 rushing yards per game, 23rd in the league, but they have given up 85 rushing yards or fewer in the six games since Maualuga has returned to the lineup. The only exception is their loss to the Steelers.
Jeremy Hill vs. Lawrence Timmons
Like the Bengals, the Steelers have shored up their run defense in recent weeks.
Since getting gashed for 143 yards by the Saints in Week 13, with 122 of them coming from Mark Ingram, the Steelers haven't allowed a team to rush for 100 yards on them in the last three weeks. Their opponents are averaging just under 100 yards per game (99.3) for the season. That ranks the Steelers sixth in the league against the run.
However, the Steelers allow 4.4 yards per carry, worst among the NFL's top 10 run defenses.
The Bengals gave Jeremy Hill the ball only eight times when the Steelers visited Cincinnati in Week 14. He gained 46 yards. But in the last two weeks, he's run for 148 yards in a 30-0 win at Cleveland and 147 Monday night in the Bengals' 37-28 win over Denver. Hill surpassed 1,000 yards for the season in that game.
Chances are Hill will get more carries Sunday night than he did the first time the Bengals faced the Steelers.
That's where Lawrence Timmons comes in.
Timmons tied his season high with 13 tackles last week as the Steelers held Jamaal Charles to 29 yards. He teamed with James Harrison to stuff Charles on 4th-and-1 and prevent the Chiefs from getting points on their final possession of the first half.
Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ranks Timmons No. 5 in the NFL among run-stopping inside linebackers. That's part of the reason he's a Pro Bowler for the first time in his eight-year career.
Antonio Brown vs. Dre Kirkpatrick
Terence Newman and Adam Jones couldn't stop Antonio Brown in Week 14. Both cornerbacks allowed Brown to catch three passes on four targets as part of a nine-catch, 117-yard day.
Dre Kirkpatrick played just 15 defensive snaps in that game. Since then, he's intercepted three passes in the last two games. He intercepted Peyton Manning twice, including a pick-six, on Monday night and was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week, according to Pro Football Talk.
Drafted 17th overall out of Alabama in 2012, Kirkpatrick made the most of his 23 snaps against the Broncos. Both of his interceptions came when covering Demaryius Thomas, Denver's top receiver.
Thomas is second to Brown this season with 103 receptions. Brown has 122 and also leads the league with 1,570 receiving yards. He's third with 12 receiving touchdowns. Brown won't reach Marvin Harrison's single-season record of 143 receptions, but he's caught 72 passes over the last eight games. That half-season pace projects to 144 catches.
Kirkpatrick probably won't cover Brown every time he's targeted. But when he does, Roethlisberger must exercise caution. Kirkpatrick has a hot hand.
Andy Dalton vs. Troy Polamalu/Will Allen
It's unclear whether Troy Polamalu will be healthy enough to play. If he's not, Will Allen again will take his place at strong safety.
Whoever plays has to be on his toes when Andy Dalton runs the read option. Dalton faked out Polamalu at Cincinnati and ran for a 20-yard touchdown in the second quarter, the longest run ever by a Bengals quarterback.
Polamalu wasn't the only Steelers defender who looked silly on the play, but if Dalton pulls that trick again Sunday, the Steelers need Polamalu or Allen to ensure that it doesn't turn into a big gain.
Dalton employed the read option against the Broncos and ran six times for 25 yards.
Steelers X-Factor to Watch: Stephon Tuitt
Stephon Tuitt made his starting debut at Cincinnati in Week 14 and had some splash plays last Sunday against the Chiefs. The rookie forced Jamaal Charles to fumble and sacked Alex Smith just before the two-minute warning. He also hurried Smith three times, a career high for the rookie defensive end.
The second-round draft pick from Notre Dame will be needed to stop the 6'1", 238-pound Hill Sunday night, but the Steelers also could use another impact play or two.
Brett Keisel's injury has provided Tuitt with an opportunity to show what he can do. While it traditionally takes a while for rookies to excel in Dick LeBeau's defense, Tuitt is a second-round pick with most of his rookie season behind him. It's time to contribute. The Steelers still need to improve on defense to have any hope of making a deep playoff run. If Tuitt keeps playing like he did Sunday, it would help.
Prediction
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The Steelers are in the playoffs for the first time in three years, but they can't relax.
There's a division to be won.
The Steelers didn't win the AFC North the last time they made the playoffs, and it cost them dearly. As the No. 5 seed, they had to play at 8-8 Denver despite their 12-4 record. No one needs to be reminded how that turned out.
This time, the reward for winning the AFC North is a home game against a team that enters the final week of the season fighting to make the playoffs, whether it's the Chargers, Ravens, Chiefs or Texans. The cost of not winning the division is going to Indianapolis and facing Andrew Luck.
The Steelers have won three in a row for the second time this season, but they haven't won four in a row. There's more substance to this three-game winning streak because two of those wins have come on the road. The Steelers won three in a row at home earlier in the season but could not take their progress on the road with them, and the streak ended with a thud against the Jets.
The Bengals are the team doing the traveling this week. They're working on a short week after an emotional win on Monday night over the Broncos.
That momentum won't be enough to knock the Steelers out of their groove, especially since the Steelers don't want Luck to be the new Tebow.
Prediction: Steelers 27, Bengals 20
NFL.com was used for statistics unless otherwise noted.
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