Well, so I was maybe a little harsh the last time I did a preview for a Steelers-Bengals game. And maybe they made me eat my words. And maybe I felt like a douche.
But, like Mark McGuire, I'm not here to talk about the past.
It's interesting that the Bengals have more losses coming into this game than the Broncos or Vikings did coming into their games with us, but this is a bigger game. That's because it's a divisional game, so there's more at stake. And there's more bad blood. And the Bengals already beat the Steelers. A win for them on Sunday effectively gives them a two game lead on the Steelers, since they would have swept the season series against us and they already swept the hated Ravens and they will most likely sweep the Browns. Because, ya know, everyone sweeps the Browns.
There. I talked some smack. I'll direct all smack talking at Cleveland. Cleveland sucks. Tim Couch and Courtney Brown. So there.
At any rate, this game has me worried, but I'm also strangely confident. Basically, if the team that played the Bengals in Week 3 shows up, we're going to get crushed. This is their Super Bowl and we can't play flat like we did in that first showdown. They're playing with a ton of confidence right now -- more confidence, actually, when they found their mojo briefly in 2005 -- and they took the hated Ravens to the woodshed, died their hair red, adopted them, and pulled out a chain, even if it didn't necessarily show up in the final score.
They're running the ball well. Cedric Benson, so help me, is for real. Carson Palmer still has the intelligence, vision, and crazy-strong arm he always had and he now also has two healthy knees and two whole elbows. On defense, they really hit on a few of their first day picks in the last five seasons or so. Even though Antwaan Odom is out for the year and Keith Rivers won't play, it's still a hell of a defense. They stop the run, they get after the quarterback, and they tackle surprisingly well.
This is a good team. They entered the conversation of being great when they came back and beat us, then swept the hated Ravens, then crushed the Bears. The conversation isn't over yet, but it will be fully completed if they beat us on Sunday. And they know it. And, as much as football players say they don't care about what ESPN says, the Bengals players have to feel as though they've been slighted by pundits thus far. They've gained a ton of street cred thus far and can fully establish themselves as dangerous contenders if they win in our house.
November is where contenders separate from pretenders. Anything can happen in the first couple months through scheduling, injuries, and other variables. By November, everything is pretty much set. By December, most teams are locking up their seeding and everyone else is scrambling for the last few playoff spots. In January, champions are made.
The point is that right now, the Steelers are in familiar territory, the Bengals are not. Most of the guys on the roster were not on the roster when Kimo ended their 2005 season. They understand that they need to beat the Steelers, but they probably don't understand the stakes. They don't understand the gravity and the importance of this moment and the moments that will follow on Sunday. The Steelers understand. Tomlin understands. Although this is the Super Bowl for the Bengals, it's a more important game for the Steelers. They need to complete the conversation on their end. They struggled through the early part of their season, then found their groove, then beat 6-0 and 6-1 teams in back-to-back games. In order to re-enter the conversation of being great, of being a team that could enter the postseason and make some noise, they need to beat the Bengals on Sunday.
The Steelers have tasted football's epiphany. Early in the season, they were complacent. Now, they're hungry. They want to taste it again. They understand that this is the next step and that it is a very important step. They seem to have straightened out their fourth quarter issues. The running game appears to be back. Ben Roethlisberger appears to be one of the best quarterbacks in the game.
Right now, though, those are all questions. All those questions can be answered by beating the Bengals on Sunday.
So, obviously, both teams have a lot at stake. But, to me, the difference is that the Steelers are at home, they've been through this before, they know how to seize the moment, and the Bengals are on the road, they haven't, and they don't. They may want to, but there's a big difference between confidence and experience. In that difference lies the Steelers' advantage.
Troy wasn't in the game the last time these two teams played. The prologue for the eulogy on Willie Parker's career was still in the draft/re-write stage. The offensive line was uncomfortable. The Bengals had something to prove and the Steelers were trusting history.
Like I said, I'm not here to talk about the past.
Troy's back. Mendenhall is running with violence and authority. Max Starks is on a very nice little streak of non-suckage, as are his line mates. The defense has regained its swagger, which is all a LeBeau-coached unit needs to be effective, even dominant.
We won't see a repeat of Week 3. It isn't going to be easy, but I think we have the necessary parts, tools, and experience to beat a very good Bengals team in order to delay the conversation of their greatness to another week.
Prediction:
Steelers 27, Bengals 20
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