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Bengals vs Steelers – Week 4 Preview

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The Cincinnati Bengals are going on the road to face their AFC North rival the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football on September 30th.

The Bengals are coming into this game 0-3 after losing a nail biter to the Buffalo Bills 21-17. The Bengals looked a lot better in the second half of last Sunday’s game and it looked like Zac Taylor actually made second half adjustments as it appeared the Bengals were making a 2nd half comeback. Andy Dalton had 20 completions on 36 attempts for 294 yards with 1 passing touchdown, 1 rushing touchdown and 2 interceptions. The Bengals were marching down the field with a shot to score with 15 seconds left but Bills cornerback Tre’Davious White picked off a Dalton pass that was intended for Auden Tate to seal the win for Buffalo.

The Steelers are also coming into this game with an 0-3 record after losing to the San Fransico 49ers 24-20 this past Sunday. Mason Rudolf got his first start out of the way and finished with 14 completions on 27 attempts for 174 yards and 2 touchdowns and he also threw an interception. The biggest play he made was a 76-yard touchdown pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster. The 49ers had 5 turnovers but the Steelers could not take advantage, with 5:49 to go in the game Steelers running back James Connor got stripped which ended up leading to the game-winning touchdown, a Garoppolo TD pass to receiver Dante Pettis.

If the Bengals want to get that 1 in the win column, their defense has to keep playing well and the offense has to keep giving Joe Mixon the ball. They simply can’t become one-dimensional on offense like they were in Seattle and against San Francisco.

If the Steelers want to get a 1 in the win column, they have to give Mason Rudolph time to let plays develop and they have to deliver the ball to JuJu Smith-Schuster a lot. The Steelers have to cut down on turnovers and take advantage of the opportunities they are given.

If the Bengals come out and play flat as they did against the 49ers and in the first half against the Bills, then I predict the Steelers will win 28-10. If the Bengals come out and play as they did in the second half against the Bills, the Bengals will win 28-17.




Cincinnati Bengals / New York Giants – Week 10 Recap

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The Cincinnati Bengals missed a golden opportunity on Monday night. What could have been a huge, momentum-building victory to start the second half of the season turned into a deflating 21-20 loss to the New York Giants. What went right, and what went wrong? Bengals blog boys Nathan and Chris give their post game thoughts.

Chris: I was so excited about Tyler Eifert’s potential impact on the game. And when he caught the 71-yard pass on the first drive, I thought New York would have trouble containing the Bengals’ passing game all night. But the offense petered out after that, along with my confidence.

Dalton only went for 204 yards – paltry by his standards. No receiver broke 100 yards, and that was the key to the Giants’ win. They took away the strength of the Bengals’ offense. The rushing attack, while improved, hasn’t emerged as enough of a consistent threat to pick up the slack.

Nate: Watching this game was rather frustrating. The Bengals showed flashes of being a good team but mostly looked like a disinterest and unprepared group as the Giants gave them every opportunity to come out victorious. 

The flashes: 1). Daltons 71 yard hookup with Tyler Eifert on the Bengals opening drive which ended in a 13 yard A.J. Green TD reception. 2). Dre Kirkpatrick made a nice INT that gave the Bengals great field position inside the Giants 10 yard line, they came away with only 3 points. And 3). Alex Erickson started the 2nd half with an 84 yard kickoff return which lead to Jeremy Hill running one in for TD which gave the Bengals a 17-14 lead early in the 3rd quarter.

The rest of the game was filled with things like the team going 2 for 11 on 3rd downs, terrible clock management with over a minute to go and a time out remaining, poor pass protection for Dalton, and allowing the leagues worst rushing attack to go for 122 yards on 27 attempts (4.5 ypa), not what Bengals fans hoped to see coming off a bye week.

Steelers Week | Monday Night Football | Steelers – Bengals Preview

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Yes, it’s Steelers week and one of the fiercest rivalries in sports will be displayed on Monday Night Football this week between the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers. This game always produces more hype amongst Bengals fans as there is a common ingrained disdain for the black & yellow team from Pennsylvania. About 5 years ago I wrote a short article titled “What To Do About MY LEAST FAVORITE NFL TEAM” in which I mentioned a few reasons why the Steelers have become a team that Bengals fans love to hate. My feelings have not changed a whole lot since I wrote that short piece 5 years ago and like most Bengals fans I am hyped for this weeks game because of the potential this Bengals team has to take over the division and remain at the top of the AFC North throughout the season. If you ask me that takeover should start on Monday Night.

Last season the teams split their 2 game series and each team won a game, Pittsburgh came from behind and beat the Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium 24-17 on Monday Night Football last year and then the Bengals were able to win a slugfest on the road in late December 13-10 to clinch a playoff spot while knocking Pittsburgh out of the playoff hunt.

This year both teams look much different than they did when they faced each other last year. On offense the Steelers no longer have WR Mike Wallace (now with the Dolphins) and they will also be without pro bowl C Maurkice Pouncey, TE Heath Miller and rookie RB Le’Veon Bell due to injuries. On defense they no longer have longtime NT Casey Hampton (not re-signed) and LB James Harrison (now with the Bengals) and they will also be without LB Larry Foote and CB Cortez Allen who are both injured. Cincinnati have added a few new dynamic offensive weapons with the addition of rookie TE Tyler Eifert and RB Giovani Bernard, they will also have a healthy number two wide receiver in Mohamed Sanu this time around. With the addition of these players and adding a veteran like James Harrison to Cincinnati’s top 10 defense from last year most of the national media consider the Bengals to be the favorite in this Week 2 matchup.

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My point of view is that it does not matter how much better the Bengals may look on paper or even how much better the Bengals have played over the 2nd half of last season up until now, this game will be a tough physical contest. We all know what Ben Roethlisberger can do when he gets time to throw or when he scrambles and gets out of the pocket. In addition, playing a Dick Lebeau led defense will mean lots of pressure and different looks and it will not be a walk in the park for Cincinnati’s young offense. With that said I think Marvin Lewis and the coaching staff will have the team ready.

My prediction: Bengals 30, Steelers 20