Home Three Point Stance SCB Three-Point Stance: Your Bengals-Steelers Gameday Guide

SCB Three-Point Stance: Your Bengals-Steelers Gameday Guide

by Steeldad

This is your ultimate gameday guide to the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Kansas City Chiefs. Our Three-Point Stance is sponsored by ‘Nail the Number’ which will return in time for next week’s game versus the Detroit Lions!

What: Cincinnati Bengals (2-3) at Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2)

Where: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PA

When: 425pm Eastern on Sunday, October 22nd, 2017

Weather: 79 degrees and partly cloudy, winds 7 mph.

Line: Steelers -5.5

Last Week: The Bengals enjoyed their bye week while the Steelers went into Kansas City and knocked off the previously unbeaten Chiefs 19-13.

TV: CBS Jim Nantz, Tony Romo and Tracy Wolfson on the sidelines.

Radio: Steelers Nation Radio/WDVE Bill Hillgrove, Tunch Ilkin and Craig Wolfley on the sidelines.

Head Official: Bill Vinovich

Key Injuries: CIN: OUT: WR Tyler Boyd (Knee), HB Ryan Hewitt (Knee) QUEST: CB Adam Jones (Back) DOUBTFUL: WR John Ross (Knee), S Derron Smith (Ankle)  PIT: OUT: Stephon Tuitt (back) QUEST: DOUBTFUL: Marcus Gilbert (hamstring)  Game-Time Decisions will be updated when available.

2017 NFL Ranks:

Total Offense: PIT 7th  CIN 30th Passing Offense: PIT 8th CIN 26th Rushing Offense: PIT 10th CIN 30th

Total Defense: PIT 7th , CIN 2nd  Passing Defense: PIT 2nd CIN 1st  Rushing Defense: PIT 24th, CIN 12th

AFC North Rankings: Pittsburgh 4-2, Baltimore 3-3, Cincinnati 2-3, Cleveland 0-6

What You Need to Know: Antonio Brown now sits in third in all-time TD receptions by a Steeler with 51. He passed Lynn Swann last week… Le’Veon Bell has the fifth most rushing touchdowns in Steelers’ history with 30. He broke a tie Sunday with Rashard Mendenhall… Vince Williams recorded his first career two sack game in Kansas City… Chris Boswell is now 61 for 70 in his career field goal attempts… The Steelers are 3-1 when they score first this year and are 3-0 when they score 20 or more points.

What’s at Stake: The Bengals can make the AFC North race very intriguing. A win pulls them within a game of the Steelers and gives them a win in hand with game yet remaining at their place. Pittsburgh can put a nice hold on the North with a win  giving them separation between them and the Bengals and potentially even more room over the Ravens who play at Minnesota.

All-Time Series: Steelers lead 58-35 and lead 31-16 at home.

Series Highs: PASSING Steelers Ben Roethlisberger 386yards Dec. 4th, 2005, Bengals Jon Kitna 411yards Dec. 30th, 2001… RUSHING Steelers Le’Veon Bell 185yards Dec. 7th, 2014,, Bengals James Brooks 133yards Sep. 30th 1985… RECEIVING Steelers Lynn Swann 192yards Dec. 2nd, 1979, Bengals A.J. Green 224yards Dec. 7th, 2014

Last Meeting:  Dec. 18, 2016, at Paul Brown Stadium Pittsburgh 24, Cincinnati 20

Three Things We Need to See for a Steelers’ Victory:

Don’t Take the Bait.  They say there are two guarantees in life; death and taxes. I believe there to be a third. “Vontaze Burfict will do something to draw a flag against you.” The Steelers absolutely cannot fall into this trap. If anyone is going to take bad penalties and implode, let it be the Bengals. Burfict will step on feet, he’ll punch, he’ll pinch and he’ll grab and as the old saying goes, it’s always the guy who retaliates that gets caught. The Steelers must remain disciplined and that isn’t easy.

Protection Plus. The Steelers appear to be without Marcus Gilbert again as he is listed as ‘doubtful’ for the game. That means more Chris Hubbard who is an excellent ‘extra lineman’ but I have concerns about him getting another start. The Bengals pass defense is tops in the league and a big part of that has been their ability to get pressure on the quarterback. The first and most important way to slow that down is by running the ball but when the Steelers do pass, they must keep Ben Roethlisberger clean and upright. There’s no question Cincinnati will target Hubbard and he has to be able to stand his ground while not losing his balance either.

Get Up Early and Go. The Steelers are currently 3-1 this season when they score first but that’s only part of the equation. Getting the Bengals to give up on the run early, especially with Stephon Tuitt out for this one, could make them one-dimensional and much less difficult to defend. Getting a lead also allows Todd Haley to give the ball to Le’Veon Bell even more and burn clock. We all saw what happens when the Steelers get behind. They abandon the run way too quickly and rely way too heavily on the pass. Getting a double-digit lead, while easier said than done, could be a huge factor in the outcome of this one.

Predictions The SCB Crew is chiming in this week with their selections! Ben is 4-2 Chris and Ian are 3-3 and Marc is 2-4.

Marc: Steelers 20 Bengals 19

Cnic: Steelers 23 Bengals 20

Ben: Steelers 24 Bengals 17

Ian: TBA

Chrissy: Steelers 24 Bengals 10

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