Steelers hope for win and help from Browns
MEMORABLE SERIES MOMENT
Steelers 27, Bengals 17
Dec. 28, 2014 at Heinz Field
The Steelers will host the Bengals in a regular-season finale for the third time tonight, and the Steelers came out of the previous two games with AFC North titles. The first, to end the 1974 season, sent the Steelers on their way to their first championship with a 10-3-1 record. In 2014, the Steelers beat the Bengals to nose them out for the AFC North title and end a two-year playoff drought at 11-5. Troy Polamalu and Ike Taylor were inactive for what would be their final regular-season game before retirement. It was also Le’Veon Bell’s final game of 2014. He suffered a hyperextended right knee courtesy of Bengals safety Reggie Nelson’s helmet in the open field. The Steelers were beaten in the playoffs the following week by the Ravens, the AFC North’s third playoff entrant.
TALE OF THE TAPE
“On that traveling M.A.S.H. unit that is the Bengals’ offense, you particularly don’t want to be named Tyler. Tyler Eifert has been on IR and Tyler Boyd was just put on IR. They’ve been ravaged. They also lost A.J. Green and Andy Dalton, of course, so Joe Mixon is the offense. He well could lead the AFC in rushing and has 42 catches. He’s rounded this scheme out. He looks even more decisive and accelerates even better when he’s hitting the holes lately. This offensive line isn’t as good as Bengals lines of the past, of course, but Mixon is looking more like the guy they’ve touted the last couple of years. He’s impressive.” — Steelers Radio analyst Craig Wolfley.
TOP QUESTION
Can the Steelers get help from the Browns in Baltimore?
In 1989, the Steelers (8-7) needed to win at Tampa Bay (5-10) on Christmas Eve. They also needed the Giants (11-4) to beat the Raiders (8-7), the Saints (8-7) to beat the Colts (8-7), and on Monday night the Vikings (9-6) to beat the Bengals (8-7). It all came to pass and the Steelers made the playoffs. They need much less this season. The Steelers (8-6-1) need to beat the Bengals (6-9), and they need the Browns (7-7-1) to beat the Ravens (9-6). The Browns have a hot rookie QB, a talented defense and an intense, intelligent, interim coach looking to finish 6-2 and keep his job. The Browns will no doubt take the Ravens to the wire. But will backup QB Joe Flacco and/or the best kicker in the game, Justin Tucker, steal the division at the gun? We’ll see.
THREE QUESTIONS: With ILB JON BOSTIC
Q: What do you remember about Bengals QB Jeff Driskel when you were teammates at Florida?
JB: “He was starting quarterback when I was there. He’s got all the intangibles. He proved that when he transferred. He made some plays when he was at Florida but I think it came down to the fit and what we were trying to accomplish at Florida that prompted the move (to Louisiana Tech as a fifth-year graduate student), but he’s a guy who can do everything. He’s got the height, the size, the speed, the arm strength. He was drafted in baseball. He’s got everything you would want in an NFL quarterback, so now it’s just putting it all together. Seeing it on film, he’s done some good things since he’s been starting.”
Q: Can you tell your defensive teammates anything about Driskel to help them?
JB: “He will run away from you. Everybody can see he’s fast on tape. Not only is he fast, he’ll run away from you. He’s bigger than you think. Like I said, everything you want in a quarterback, he’s got it. Plus.”
Q: He’s not done too bad in the four games he’s started, has he?
JB: “No he’s not, and that’s the thing. He’s done some good things and he’s only going to get better with the more experience he gets.”
GAME BREAKDOWN
What to look for from the Steelers this evening at Heinz Field:
On offense
James Conner isn’t 100 percent, so look for emerging rookie Jaylen Samuels to also take snaps against a Bengals defense that’s allowed more yards and more points than any defense in the league and allows 4.8 yards per carry this season. In the passing game, the Steelers could be without Antonio Brown, who missed practice this week with a knee injury, but the Bengals just put their most experienced cornerback, Dre Kirkpatrick, on IR. WLB Vontaze Burfict has also been ruled out with a concussion. Darqueze Dennard will slide over from the slot to replace Kirkpatrick, with rookie Darius Phillips expected to play in the slot. Dennard and William Jackson have been playing more press man coverage since Marvin Lewis simplified the defense a month ago. Dennard is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in March.
On defense
Vince Williams is doubtful and will probably be replaced by pass-downs linebacker L.J. Fort. FS Sean Davis missed early practices and was replaced by Jordan Dangerfield, while another safety, Morgan Burnett, continued to practice as a dime linebacker. Otherwise the Steelers should be healthy on defense against a Bengals team missing QB Dalton and WRs Green and Boyd.
PREDICTION
The Steelers in the last five games have gone 1-4 against .587 competition, while the Bengals have gone 1-4 against .480 competition. Except for those numbers, the key statistics are even, so the 14 points by which the Steelers are favored seem to be too many. The Steelers have struggled adding to second-half leads. In their last five games, the’ve had 11 possessions with leads of eight points or less, and only once did they add to their lead, a field goal to go up seven against the Patriots. If the Steelers don’t break that habit, they’re in danger of being embarrassed one last time this season. … Steelers, 27-17.
BY THE NUMBERS
5.7: Average yards per carry by Conner in three career games against the Bengals. He needs 91 rushing yards for 1,000 and 124 yards from scrimmage for 1,500 this season.
15: Touchdown catches by Brown leads the NFL. One more would give him 75 in his career.
33: Touchdown passes by Roethlisberger this season is a new team record.
158: Passing yards by Roethlisberger today will make him the first 5,000-yard passer in team history.
216: Regular-season games played by Roethlisberger when he takes his first snap today. He’ll head into 2019 trailing only Mike Webster (220) and Hines Ward (217) on the Steelers’ all-time list.
DOWNLOADS
n Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster have already become the sixth tandem in NFL history with 100 catches and 1,000 receiving yards apiece. If Brown plays, and catches six passes, and Smith-Schuster catches four passes, they would become the first teammates in NFL history with 110 catches each in a season.
n In 16 regular-season games against the Bengals, Brown has caught 86 passes for 1,243 yards and seven touchdowns. His average season (since playing more than 10 games for the first time in 2013) is 114 catches for 1,524 yards and 11 touchdowns. So the Bengals have done a better-than-average job with Brown.
n Offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner was asked whether his unit becomes complacent with the ball and a one-score, second-half lead. “I don’t know that it’s like that,” he said. “We try to say we’re going to keep our foot on the gas pedal and not think about it. It’s just unfortunate – the other day – and I wouldn’t have seen it coming. I would bet that not many of them would in that situation.”
n Combined, the average numbers of IR’d Bengals WRs Green and Boyd add up to 11 catches for 151 yards per game. Their replacements, Cody Core and John Ross, have started 11 games combined. In those games, their combined production is 4 catches for 47 yards.
n Driskel, in his four starts (1-3), has a passer rating of 85.6, close to Dalton’s passer rating of 89.6 this season. The primary difference is Dalton’s 7.03 yards per attempt average compared to Driskel’s 5.97. Dalton also averaged 6.2 yards per rush compared to the more mobile Driskel, who averages 5.1. Driskel is sacked once every 13.7 dropbacks, while Dalton Was sacked once every 18.4.
PARTING SHOT
“The Browns are playing very good football right now. The quarterback takes care of the ball, they’re going to apply pressure on defense, they’re athletic on defense, and they’ll give that option game a little bit of problems.” — Bengals Coach Marvin Lewis on the Browns’ chances against the Ravens.