On Deck: Pittsburgh at Cincinnati

That the two rivals will meet each other in the first round of the playoffs means that there are sure to be fireworks. Throw out the win-loss records on Saturday as Cincinnati and Pittsburgh get ready to make a final statement dead even.

The Steelers dominated in a 33-20 win that left a mark on the Bengals. The two games couldn’t have been more different.

Who’s Hot: The Antonio Brown machine moved along on Sunday with another huge game in the Steelers’ win over the Browns.

However, there is now a glimmer of hope that Dalton will be able to return to action in the near future…if the Bengals are still in the playoffs, that is. Match him up with the likes of William Gay, Cockrell and Boykin.

Dalton was leading the league in passer rating when he broke his right thumb while making a tackle against the Steelers on December 13 at Paul Brown Stadium. “He’s done well. Still, Andy Dalton is the Bengals’ quarterback and if he is healthy with work behind him, he will play”.

McCarron has acquitted himself well in his three starts in Dalton’s stead. That’s three starts without a single interception.

“His preparation, his diving into everything, how anxious for this opportunity, I think, in his mind he has been throughout this entire season”, Lewis said, “how he’s gone about it, how he’s directed the football team, how he’s assumed the role of the leader of the offense that way”. Stop the run, pressure McCarron, and the biggest thing is going to have to be to take away the threat of A.J. Green. “If the (opposing) quarterback turns the ball over and you don’t, it puts your team in a situation to win the ballgame”.

If, as expected, the Bengals are forced to go with backup quarterback AJ McCarron on Saturday, it will be a familiar feeling for the Steelers’ defense: Playing backup quarterbacks has become the norm for Pittsburgh. Head coach Marvin Lewis remembers the game even if his players weren’t on the roster, saying it is, “time to right the ship…exorcism”. He hasn’t played since, and the Bengals have been going with former Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron. ‘I see very little schematic difference in how they are attacking people whether he is in there or Andy is in there. Linebacker Vincent Rey added, “We’ll be ready”. Despite their somewhat inconsistent play, the Steelers found a way to sneak into the postseason (thanks in part to the Buffalo Bills) as the No. 6 seed in the AFC. “We get a chance to redeem ourselves”. The losses to Houston, Arizona, and Denver were by a total of about 10 points.

“We’re building up”, left tackle Andrew Whitworth said. It’s a loss that Bengals Nation has still yet to recover from, and it marked the first of six straight playoff losses for Cincinnati.

Also, he hasn’t practiced in three weeks, leaving him rusty – a bad combination for playoff time. There was no penalty called on the play, but many thought that was a mistake by the officials.

Christina Rivers has covered the Pittsburgh Steelers and National Football League professionally as a journalist and photographer for over a decade.