Game Notes:
Pittsburgh Steelers (0-1; 0-0 away) at Cincinnati Bengals (0-1; 0-0 home)
Monday, September 16 – 8:30 pm (televised locally on NBC/WPXI)
Paul Brown Stadium – Cincinnati, OH
Despite a Week One loss that left little to be optimistic about, the Pittsburgh Steelers (0-1) will have an opportunity to end Week Two in an early-season tie for first place in the AFC North. That opportunity will come Monday night against the Cincinnati Bengals (0-1), who lost a close game on the road last week at Chicago. The Steelers lost their season opener at home to the visiting Tennessee Titans, 16-9. A Pittsburgh victory would put them a game ahead of Cincinnati and the Cleveland Browns (0-2), tied for the division lead with the Baltimore Ravens (1-1), who defeated Cleveland Sunday afternoon.
Before getting too far ahead, though, recognize that the Steelers face a very tall task against the improving Bengals and, frankly, against themselves. The offense continues to struggle mightily under second-year offensive coordinator Todd Haley and the injuries continue to pile up, especially on that side of the football.
Center Maurkice Pouncey was lost for the year in the first quarter last week due to ACL and MCL ligament injuries and one of the team’s new and speedy running game options, LaRod Stephens-Howling, was also hurt and is out for the season as well. Defensively, veteran LB Larry Foote tore a biceps muscle and is done. Tight end Heath Miller (knee) remains out, CB Cortez Allen (ankle) is out, but K Shaun Suisham will play despite an ailing hamstring. The team had signed veteran Shayne Graham just in case but he is not figured to be needed as Suisham is expected to be able to play.
Isaac Redman is going to get a second start at RB for the Steelers, but he will certainly have to improve on his eight-carry, nine-yard, two-fumble performance against Tennessee if he is to keep getting the ball, let alone stay on the roster. Jonathan Dwyer was re-signed by the team just days after he had been one of the final roster cuts. Rookie second-round draft pick Le’Veon Bell will remain unavailable with a foot injury. Improvement by the running game and whether or not QB Ben Roethlisberger will have time to throw and develop a more consistent passing attack are the two main focal points in this game for Pittsburgh. The Steeler defense was not nearly as much of an issue in the loss to the Titans, though there is room for improvement by the rush defense, which allowed 112 yards.
Cincinnati comes off a 24-21 loss at Chicago, where they took a lead into the fourth-quarter but could not hold Jay Cutler from finding Brandon Marshall for a score with about eight minutes remaining. The Bengals got a strong performance from QB Andy Dalton (26-33, 282 yards, 2 TD), but his two interceptions proved costly in a tight game. His favorite target, A.J. Green, hauled in both touchdowns and a whopping 162 yards on nine receptions. The Bengals ground game struggled to produce much, averaging just three yards per carry for a total of 63 yards. Starter BenJarvus Green-Ellis managed only 25 yards on 14 carries. Chicago RB Matt Forte only had 50 yards on 19 carries, so the Bengal rush defense has so far proven to be formidable, which is not positive for Pittsburgh heading into this matchup.
Finally, the Bengals will be able to feed off a hungry home crowd expecting to see a victory over the perennially tough Steelers and the players themselves will be feeding off a desire to wipe away a difficult loss last week. Having once led Chicago 21-10 early in the second half, head coach Marvin Lewis and his players have to believe they should be 1-0 heading into their home opener. These factors, combined with a lot of questions for Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and his group, may lead to another difficult 60 minutes for the black and gold. On display for a national television audience, they had best be “ready for some football,” because they sure were not at Heinz Field last Sunday.
