Cincinnati Bengals
(6-0) at Pittsburgh Steelers (4-3) Sky Sports 1800 Sunday
For me, this is the big clash of the weekend with the unbeaten Bengals facing a dangerous Steel City
team, desperate to put the division leaders in their place. Obviously, the Sky
Sports director has the same enthusiasm as he has it as the featured game after
the show at Wembley.
This matchup has all the hallmarks of being a cracker and football fans
will be able to savour the best of the AFC
North. Fresh from their bye week, the Bengals will be making the short
journey to Pittsburgh to face a
Steelers team keen to get back on track with the return of their leader Ben Roethlisberger.
The Bengals press notes highlight that a win will take the team to 7-0 for the first time. To make Bengals history is a big
incentive, but their notes also add realism with the suggestion, “the
roadblock is formidable — Pittsburgh at Heinz Field.”
Since Andy Dalton entered the NFL in 2011,
the Bengals’ have a 22-13 (.629) record on the road, the third-highest winning
percentage in the NFL during that span, but in Pittsburgh he’s only has one win
in four visits. The one victory was in 2012 when Cincinnati pinched a 13-10 win with four seconds left in the game.
The
Bengals’ offense is currently ranked third in the NFL with an average of 410.3
total net yards per game. The team has found stability with the same offensive
coordinator for the fifth year, together with a fit and healthy cast of
talented runners
and receivers for Dalton to work with.
They are the only team in the AFC with two players who have scored at
least six touchdowns apiece this season – tight end Tyler Eifert
(six) and running back Jeremy Hill (six).
“I think our success comes from looking at the versatility we have,” offered
Bengals receiver Marvin Jones. “You can’t have enough fingers to count
the number of players who can change a game, and we expect greatness from all
of them.”
Roethlisberger
requires 31 passing yards to become the
first Steelers quarterback to make 40,000 and to become the ninth passer in
league history to reach that mark with one team. I would love to be part of
Steelers history again.
You
can forget about comparing the stats put up by both teams this season to find
the winner as the Steelers have been without their most explosive weapon
Roethlisberger for four games. Will his rustiness affect his ability to come
right back into an important game like this?
His
coach Mike Tomlin doesn’t believe
so, “He’ll have a full week of
preparation. He participated in a partial capacity a week ago. Hopefully, all
of those things will allow him to push past some of the anxiety and so forth,
associated with getting back out there.”
On defense for the
Steelers, defensive coordinator Keith
Butler told Steelers radio that the focus this week has been on keeping the
ball in front and not letting it go over your head, keeping the mistakes down
and not missing tackles.
I will
be watching the game at Heinz Field as it is part of my annual exploits to
Pittsburgh, so can the Steelers make my visit a rewarding one? It revolves
around Le’Veon Bell so watch the
game and find out!
San Diego Chargers (2-5) at Baltimore Ravens (1-6)
These two teams have seen better times and their fans will be disappointed that this season they have not realised their usual potential. Both are coming off losses and both fought valiantly to come from behind in the attempt to gain a win.
Joe Flacco is working with his
fourth offensive coordinator in four years and that may explain why is has been
struggling, and as mentioned with Cincinnati, stability builds success.
Arizona Cardinals (5-2)
at Cleveland Browns (2-5)
With the stats leaning their way, this looks all over an Arizona win.
The Browns quarterback Josh McCown is
recovering from a shoulder injury, so it will be a late call as to who will be
leading the team in front of the Dawg
Pound.
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