Bengals vs. Steelers: Week 13 Will Be Different for Pittsburgh Than Last Matchup

The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 24-17 in their first meeting in Week 9 to go into their bye at 7-3.

The team is now 8-3 after beating the Chiefs on Sunday Night Football and because of the bye, they have only played one game since the first matchup.

The game came down to the last drive the first time around and here are five reasons why that will not be the case in the second matchup.

The Chiefs

The Steelers are 8-3, however, they are coming off one of their worst offensive performances of the season against the Chiefs.

Instead of looking sharp coming out of the bye week the Steelers looked like a team that thought they could just walk away with the win.

This performance will wake the Steelers up and remind them that teams are not just going to lay down and let them into the playoffs.

No Gifts

In the first matchup between these teams, the Steelers offense got off to a hot start until Heath Miller gift-wrapped an interception for the Bengals.

The Steelers offense then went on to only score three points in the second quarter after getting touchdowns on their previous two drives.

That play was ridiculous and even though Heath has been dropping some passes lately, I do not see him handing the ball off to the Bengals again in this game.  

Takeaways

For over half of the season, the Steelers could not buy a takeaway and had two of them for the first time in the game against the Bengals when they picked off Andy Dalton twice in the fourth quarter.

The Steelers have only played in one game since, however, they did force another four turnovers against the Chiefs including three interceptions.

The defense is too good to go the entire season without forcing turnovers and now that they are on a roll, I see them forcing a few more against the Bengals.

Focus

Since the game against the Bengals, the Steelers have been dropping a lot of passes and Mike Wallace dropped a touchdown against the Chiefs in Week 12.

It is strange for a team that was playing so well before the bye week to come out so poorly against the Chiefs, however, it should force them to focus this week.

This is a huge game for the Steelers and the entire team will be focused on keeping pace with the division-leading Baltimore Ravens.

Ben Roethlisberger

No one really talks about the great job that Ben Roethlisberger has had this season because his numbers are not the greatest.

People like to point to the fact that he holds onto the ball too long, but if you really watched the Steelers you would know how much pressure he is under routinely in games.

Ben Roethlisberger is the reason they even got the one touchdown they had against the Chiefs and he will carry the team all the way to being Super Bowl champions.

Game Prediction

The Steelers are not going to have the stupid mistakes that plagued them in the first game between these two teams.

There is no way the game should have come down to the last drive and even if Troy Polamalu cannot play, this week it will be very different.

The Bengals will make it a game, however in the end, the Steelers will end up winning by two scores. 

Steelers Win 31-17