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Steelers host division rival Bengals Sunday
By: Zach Cohen - StatFox
Published: 9/15/2016  at  1:59:00 PM
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CINCINNATI BENGALS (1-0)
at PITTSBURGH STEELERS (1-0)

Heinz Field – Pittsburgh, PA
Kickoff: Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET
Line: Pittsburgh -3.5, Total: 48.5

Both the Bengals and the Steelers will be looking to gain an edge in the AFC North when the teams meet in Pittsburgh on Sunday.

The Bengals are coming off of an impressive Week 1 victory, as they won 23-22 as one-point road favorites against the Jets in that one. Cincinnati held a solid New York offense to just 340 yards of total offense and will now be hoping to just make things difficult on the Steelers in this one. Pittsburgh has one of the most explosive offenses in the league and that was on full display in last Monday night’s 38-16 victory as a two-point favorite in Washington. The Steelers racked up 435 yards of total offense in that game and the 147 yards they rushed for on the ground was rather impressive considering RB Le’Veon Bell (Suspension) was not on the field. Cincinnati and Pittsburgh met in the postseason last year and the Steelers defeated the Bengals 18-16 as two-point road favorites in that one. That was Pittsburgh’s second straight win in Cincinnati, but the Bengals did win 16-10 in their most recent trip to Heinz Field (Nov. 1, 2015). Still, the Steelers are 4-1 SU and 3-1-1 ATS when facing the Bengals over the past three seasons and they should be confident coming into this one. It is, however, worth noting that Marvin Lewis is 12-3 ATS in road games after gaining 6.5 or more yards per play in his team’s previous game as the coach of Cincinnati. CB Darqueze Dennard (Ankle) is listed as questionable for the Bengals in this game and LB Ryan Shazier (Knee) is questionable for the Steelers.

The Bengals aren’t necessarily a throwing team, but QB Andy Dalton (366 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) sure made it seem like it in the season opener versus the Jets. Dalton was remarkable in that game, going 23-for-30 with 366 yards and a touchdown. Those 366 yards gave Dalton the record for most passing yards in a season opener in franchise history. He did throw one pick in the game, but mistakes are going to happen and he made up for it with some big throws down the stretch. This Steelers team that Dalton will be going up against is not very good at defending the pass either, so another big performance might just be in store for the Cincinnati signal caller. When Dalton is looking to throw, he mostly targets WR A.J. Green (12 rec, 180 yards, 1 TD). Green absolutely dominated the Jets in Week 1 and should be able to do a ton of damage against the Steelers on Sunday. In three meetings with Pittsburgh last season, Green hauled in 22 passes for 321 yards and three touchdowns. He’ll be very excited to get back out there against them in this one. Defensively, both DT Geno Atkins (4 tackles, 1 sack) and LB Karlos Dansby (11 tackles) will need to be ready to make plays in this one. Both guys wreaked havoc against the Jets last week and it’d be big if they could put some pressure on Ben Roethlisberger in this one.

The Steelers blew out the Redskins in Washington last week and QB Ben Roethlisberger (300 yards, 30 TD, 1 INT) played very well in that game. Roethlisberger was 27-for-37 and came up big whenever the Steelers needed the offense to convert. Roethlisberger did, however, struggle with this Cincinnati team in 2015. In three games against the Bengals, Roethlisberger had just two touchdowns. He also threw four interceptions in those contests. Pittsburgh needs him to play at a much higher level this time around. That shouldn’t be too difficult for Roethlisberger, as WR Antonio Brown (8 rec, 126 yards, 2 TD) looked as good as ever last week. Brown torched the Redskins’ secondary in Week 1 and that was a unit that was supposed to be much better with the arrival of CB Josh Norman. He’ll now hope to carry some momentum into this week’s meeting with Cincinnati. Defensively, it’d be a huge loss for the Steelers if Shazier is unable to play in this one. He was a monster in Week 1, racking up six tackles and also coming away with an interception.


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