With both the Steelers and Bengals coming off of impressive Week 1 wins, this AFC North showdown in Pittsburgh will be an important matchup. The Bengals, led by an extremely impressive Andy Dalton and A.J. Green, took down the Jets in an emotional contest at MetLife Stadium. Monday night belonged to the Steelers, as they made fairly quick work of the 2015 NFC East champions. With notable stars Le’Veon Bell and Vontaze Burfict missing, as well as Tyler Eifert, and Martavis Bryant likely to sit out the game, this game is as wide open as ever. Here’s everything you need to know before kickoff in the Steel City on Sunday afternoon.
Game: Cincinnati Bengals (1-0) at Pittsburgh Steelers (1-0)
Date/Time: Sunday, September 18, 2016 1:00 p.m. ET
Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Series Leader: Steelers, 58-35
Streak: The Steelers have won the last 2 meetings and 5 of the last 6
Coaches vs Opponent: Marvin Lewis (8-20), Mike Tomlin (14-5)
TV Broadcast: CBS: Ian Eagle, Dan Fouts, Evan Washburn (field reporter).
Radio Broadcast: Coverage on the Bengals Radio Network, led by Cincinnati flagship stations WCKY-AM (ESPN 1530; all sports) and WEBN-FM (102.7). Broadcasters are Dan Hoard (play-by-play) and Dave Lapham (analyst). SIRIUS: 121 (CIN), 82 (PIT). XM: 386 (CIN), 82 (PIT).
The game also will be aired to a national audience on affiliates of Westwood One Sports. Broadcasters are John Sadak (play-by-play) and Mike Mayock (analyst).
Steelers SB Nation: Behind The Steel Curtain (@BTSteelCurtain)
Weather: 76 degrees with a chance of thunderstorms [Weather Underground]
Odds: Steelers, -3.5 (Odds Shark)
Referee: Pete Morelli
Uniform: White jerseys, white pants (the team is 19-24 in this combination since 2004)
Cincinnati Bengals
- Andy Dalton has won his past four divisional game starts with 10+ pass attempts and he has a 111.6 passer rating in those games.
- Jeremy Hill has eight rushing touchdowns in his last nine games.
- In his last six games against Pittsburgh, A.J. Green has 50 catches for 720 yards and four touchdowns
- Dalton had a career-high 106.3 rating in 2015, the highest mark in franchise history.
- Adam Jones is the only active NFL player with two or more interceptions returned for touchdowns and 5 or more punts returned for touchdowns.
- Defensive tackle Geno Atkins has 41 sacks since 2011, the most by a defensive tackle in the NFL.
- Defensive end Carlos Dunlap has had 4 sacks in his last four divisional games.
- Wide Receiver A.J. Green led the team with 1,297 receiving yards. Green joins Randy Moss as only players in NFL history with five consecutive 1,000-yard seasons to begin their careers.
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is 19-7 against Cincinnati in his career.
- Running back DeAngelo Williams ran for 143 yards and two touchdowns last week against Washington.
- Wide Receiver Antonio Brown has 36 catches for 498 yards and two touchdowns in his last 5 games against the Bengals.
- Wide receiver Eli Rogers caught his first career touchdown catch last week.
- Linebacker Ryan Shazier had an interception and a forced fumble last week, but left the game early with a knee injury.
- The Steelers had zero sacks and only two quarterback hits on Kirk Cousins’ 44 drop backs last week.
Bengals' all-time record against the Steelers:
1970 | Pittsburgh | L, 10-21 |
Cincinnati | W, 34-7 | |
1971 | Pittsburgh | L, 10-21 |
Cincinnati | L, 13-21 | |
1972 | Cincinnati | W, 15-10 |
Pittsburgh | L, 17-40 | |
1973 | Cincinnati | W, 19-7 |
Pittsburgh | L, 13-20 | |
1974 | Cincinnati | W, 17-10 |
Pittsburgh | L, 3-27 | |
1975 | Cincinnati | L, 24-30 |
Pittsburgh | L, 14-35 | |
1976 | Pittsburgh | L, 6-23 |
Cincinnati | L, 3-7 | |
1977 | Pittsburgh | L, 14-20 |
Cincinnati | W, 17-10 | |
1978 | Cincinnati | L, 3-28 |
Pittsburgh | L, 6-7 | |
1979 | Cincinnati | W, 34-10 |
Pittsburgh | L, 17-37 | |
1980 | Cincinnati | W, 30-28 |
Pittsburgh | W, 17-16 | |
1981 | Cincinnati | W, 34-7 |
Pittsburgh | W, 17-10 | |
1982 | Pittsburgh | L, 20-26 (OT) |
1983 | Cincinnati | L, 14-24 |
Pittsburgh | W, 23-10 | |
1984 | Pittsburgh | L, 17-38 |
Cincinnati | W, 22-20 | |
1985 | Pittsburgh | W, 37-24 |
Cincinnati | W, 26-21 | |
1986 | Cincinnati | W, 24-22 |
Pittsburgh | L, 9-30 | |
1987 | Pittsburgh | L, 20-23 |
Cincinnati | L, 16-30 | |
1988 | Pittsburgh | W, 17-12 |
Cincinnati | W, 42-7 | |
1989 | Cincinnati | W, 41-10 |
Pittsburgh | W, 26-16 | |
1990 | Cincinnati | W, 27-3 |
Pittsburgh | W, 16-12 | |
1991 | Cincinnati | L, 27-33 (OT) |
Pittsburgh | L, 10-17 | |
1992 | Pittsburgh | L, 0-20 |
Cincinnati | L, 9-21 | |
1993 | Pittsburgh | L, 7-34 |
Cincinnati | L, 16-24 | |
1994 | Pittsburgh | L, 10-14 |
Cincinnati | L, 15-38 | |
1995 | Pittsburgh | W, 27-9 |
Cincinnati | L, 31-49 | |
1996 | Pittsburgh | L, 10-20 |
Cincinnati | W, 34-24 | |
1997 | Cincinnati | L, 10-26 |
Pittsburgh | L, 3-20 | |
1998 | Cincinnati | W, 25-20 |
Pittsburgh | W, 25-24 | |
1999 | Cincinnati | L, 3-17 |
Pittsburgh | W, 27-20 | |
2000 | Pittsburgh | L, 0-15 |
Cincinnati | L, 28-48 | |
2001 | Pittsburgh | L, 7-16 |
Cincinnati | W, 26-23 (OT) | |
2002 | Cincinnati | L, 7-34 |
Pittsburgh | L, 21-29 | |
2003 | Cincinnati | L, 10-17 |
Pittsburgh | W, 24-20 | |
2004 | Pittsburgh | L, 17-28 |
Cincinnati | L, 14-19 | |
2005 | Cincinnati | L, 13-27 |
Pittsburgh | W, 38-31 | |
Cincinnati | L, 17-31* | |
2006 | Pittsburgh | W, 28-20 |
Cincinnati | L, 17-23 (OT) | |
2007 | Cincinnati | L, 13-24 |
Pittsburgh | L, 10-24 | |
2008 | Cincinnati | L, 10-38 |
Pittsburgh | L, 10-27 | |
2009 | Cincinnati | W, 23-20 |
Pittsburgh | W, 18-12 | |
2010 | Cincinnati | L, 21-27 |
Pittsburgh | L, 7-23 | |
2011 | Cincinnati | L, 17-24 |
Pittsburgh | L, 7-35 | |
2012 | Cincinnati | L, 17-24 |
Pittsburgh | W, 13-10 | |
2013 | Cincinnati | W, 20-10 |
Pittsburgh | L, 20-30 | |
2014 | Cincinnati | L, 21-42 |
Pittsburgh | L, 17-27 | |
2015 | Pittsburgh | W, 16-10 |
Cincinnati | L, 20-33 | |
Cincinnati | L, 16-18* | |
*AFC Wild Card Playoff |