09-15-2016, 11:07 AM
(09-14-2016, 06:26 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: Obviously we've been pretty abysmal vs the Steelers for over a decade now, but there are a few reasons for optimism.
1. The Steelers offense isn't nearly as explosive vs our defense. They averaged 20.3 points and 360 yards against the Bengals, 27.1 and 401 vs everyone else. This is including a game where our defense played like they knew they just lost their franchise QB.
2. Miller and Bryant combined for 38 catches in 3 games last year. Obviously they won't be around for this one. Miller in particular is going to be a huge loss. He had 10 catches in each of the regular season games. Brown was covered and Ben kept dumping it to Heath.
3. Speaking of Ben, he's been pretty mediocre against the Bengals over the last 4 seasons (9 games). He has a 85.4 rating with more turnovers (12) than TDs (11). This continued last year, when he had only 2 TDs to 4 INTs.
4. The Bengals are 3-4 in the last 7 full games Dalton has played.
5. From 2013-15 (5 starts), Dalton has a 85.1 rating against the Steelers. Completing 62.3% with 8 TDs and only 5 INTs. Considering that the Steelers have shut down our passing game dating back to the Palmer days, the numbers are encouraging. Dalton has actually had a better passer rating then Ben in 3 of their last 4 matchups, with the Bengals going 2-1 when that happens.
6. AJ Green dominated them last year for 321 yards. Plus he had a TD in each game.
7. DeAngelo Williams was mostly held in check in his only start against us last year. 76 yards on 23 carries. He did punch it in twice, but managed only 3.3 ypc and 2 catches for 15 yards.
and finally...
8. The Steelers are 8-7 without Bell (including playoffs) since he was drafted. One of those losses happened to be a week 2 game @Bengals. One of the very rare wins for the Bengals in Cincinnati.
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With no Bell, Heath or Bryant, I think we have a good shot to win in Pittsburgh. We've been much more competitive against those guys recently (when our QB is healthy and our receivers aren't decimated). So do you guys have any reasons why you're feeling good going into this game? Or is there a particular stat you find interesting?
Since you asked, below is the stat that I find most interesting.
We all know of Marvin's 0 & 7 playoff futility. The meltdown in big games against quality opponents is no secret. Squandering timeouts is not unusual. Lack of discipline has been a problem. National T.V. is not a friend of Marvin's
But here is the stat that nobody is talking about. Marvin has been absolutely dismal vs. his arch rival. He has been flat out bullied and whipped. For some reason nobody ever talks about his record vs the Steelahs.
I could be wrong, but I believe that Sunday's game will leave him with either 8 wins and 21 losses or 9 wins and 20 losses.
Either way it's pretty miserable. A heck of a lot for Bengal fans to have to take.
