Steelers’ DeAngelo Williams out vs. Bengals with foot injury

Since their Week 7 bye, the Bengals have yielded just 15.7 points per game. Each time these teams played in the regular season, things got very, very chippy.

“None of that matters”, said Bengals Pro Bowl left tackle Andrew Whitworth, one of the few players on the roster who has suffered through the five playoff losses since 2009. And they have a message for the people who doubted them. “Playing in Paul Brown Stadium they have the home crowd and I really think it’s going to be a dink and dunk and chess match between the two coordinators”.

With that said, the Wild Card game will come down to some key matchups across the board, much like the Week 13 game did in Cincinnati.

Four weeks later, the only difference is that the stakes are higher.

The Pittsburgh Steelers won’t have DeAngelo Williams in uniform on Saturday.

Andy Dalton was leading the league in passer rating when he broke his thumb while making a tackle during an interception return.

And that goes for the Steelers, too.

If the Bengals win, they’ll head to Foxborough for a January 16 showdown with the Patriots.

They’re saving it for Saturday.

“Everyone was down on us, everyone was calling us out”, safety Mike Mitchell said. Sometimes, stuff happens because we let our emotions get the best of us. The division rivals hate each other, so players from both teams are going to be emotional heading into the game.

Although they are a wild card team, the Steelers are favored to win this one. Marvis Lewis is 0-6 in the postseason since taking over as the Bengals head coach, and some speculate his job could be in jeopardy if they don’t finally break through on Saturday.

The Cincinnati Bengals prepare to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in their 5th straight playoff appearance. The Steelers are 14-3 all time at Paul Brown Stadium, which opened in 2000.

SH: The Steelers haven’t seen A.J. McCarron since he has gotten more reps with the first team, what is the plan to stop the air and play action attack the Bengals have been successful with for 2.5 games?

Is he no longer a big-game quarterback? Bengals’ defense allowed club-record 279 points, fewest in AFC…. They’ve still won four of their last five games, lucky to make it into the playoffs after dropping a huge game against the Baltimore Ravens. McCarron has yet to throw an interception in three prior starts. The success of the run game will completely rely on the offensive line. Backups Fitzgerald Toussaint and Jordan Todman are more than capable of handling the ball carrying duties. The fact Toussaint and Todman have been around for four months means they haven’t had to spend the week cramming. We will give him an opportunity to do that if he is capable….

“I don’t think we change anything we do”, Lewis said. We know what we’re chasing.

CHALLENGING MARTAVIS: Roethlisberger called out talented but inconsistent second-year wide receiver Martavis Bryant during the week, saying on his radio show that Bryant needed to “toughen up” after he managed just two receptions for 6 yards over the final two games.