Pittsburgh Steelers: The team no one wants to play

It was a bad play, arguably the worst we saw all season, unless you consider the Terrelle Pryor play the worst. Jeremy Hill overcame a sluggish start to record six touchdowns in his last seven games, but he was limited to just 76 yards on 22 carries collectively in two meetings with the Steelers.EXTRA POINTS1.

Dalton said rehabilitation has improved the movement of his thumb, but he’s uncertain how it’ll react to trying to throw a football.

The Bengals quarterback had the cast protecting his broken thumb removed, but his status for Sunday against the Steelers remains unknown. “I’ll have to go earn it. Right now, the only thing I’ve got to worry about is playing this week”. As a result, the Bengals will meet a long time foe, the Pittsburgh Steelers, who you may recall, were the subject of the Andy Dalton injury and as fate may dictate, the only thing standing in the way of a Dalton playoff return. Lewis wants him to get as much practice time as possible to prepare for the rematch with the Steelers.

Dec 6, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green (18) makes a catch ahead of the defense of Cleveland Browns cornerback Tramon Williams (22) during the third quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium. It’s been 25 years since this team has done so, and though the Dalton-led Bengals are making a postseason appearance for the fifth straight year, each time this team has gone one-and-done in January. And no quarterback with so little starting experience has won a playoff game since 1979, when Gifford Nielsen led the Houston Oilers to a win in San Diego, according to STATS. “I’m excited, but now it’s time for the playoffs…” We have to go in there with the fight to win.

And then he gets a chance to show how far he’s grown in the past month.

When the two teams met a few weeks back in Cincinnati, a game the Steelers won (payback for a game they blew to the Bengals, in Pittsburgh), fists were flying long before the final whistle.

Thrown into the game on such short notice, McCarron felt like a teenager again.

“(Avoiding) turnovers is a big key to success in this league, really at any level”, McCarron said. “When I came to the sideline after two possessions or something, I asked my offensive coordinator: Did they have more than 11 people on the field?'”

The good news is that those who espouse the Bengals Narrative can not put another checkmark in that column if Cincinnati loses with McCarron at quarterback. During those games, McCarron completed 54-of-83 passes for 552 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions. The Bengals are coming from a 24-16 win over the Baltimore Ravens.

Indeed, Roethlisberger and the Steelers griped to refs about another play later in their latest game, when Burfict seemed to drive his head toward Big Ben’s knees well after the whistle. We’re going to win as a team, and we’re focusing on winning this game.

Bengals sign four: The Bengals on Tuesday signed former linebacker Jayson DiManche to the practice squad and three others – safety Floyd Raven Sr., kicker Zach Hocker and linebacker Dezmond Johnson – to reserve/future contracts.