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Bengals @ Steelers Game Thread


walzav29

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Boys, boys, boys. We all have nervous energy. Let's refocus it on this huge game. I'm pretty sure it's the biggest game in Marvins history. This game means everything as far as I'm concerned. I guess that 2005 game at Pittsburgh was the same thing. But this is Marvs Team 2.0.... Very nervous myself. Divided we shall fall gentleman. Together we stand.

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There is way too much positive media out there on the Bengals this week. When a team doesn't get good press when they win 4 games in a row, yet after being 5-1 and control their own destiny to win the division, they are all of a sudden the "upstart Bengals."

They are doomed, this team can't handle the pressure of deciding of paper or plastic, let alone a big game like this.

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They couldn't handle the pressure of sweeping the Steelers in Pittsburgh in 2009, and then they won it in true bully fashion.

I really think the majority of the talk about this franchise "folding under pressure" is nonsense. There are many ways to lose, and the only game where I really think that might have been an applicable description was @Denver 2006 with the botched PAT.

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Don't have the whole piece because it's E$PN InSider but FWIW:

NFL Upset Watch: Week 16

How the Bengals can clinch a playoff spot by beating the Steelers

By Aaron Schatz | Football Outsiders

Upset Watch appears every Thursday this season for ESPN Insider, as Football Outsiders uses a proprietary formula to forecast the expected point spread of each game based on current DVOA ratings (explained here) and, early in the season, our DVOA projections. Each week, we highlight the most likely upset on a game with a line of more than three points plus an additional game in which a significant underdog has a strong chance to cover.

Upset Watch: Cincinnati (+4) at Pittsburgh

The last two AFC wild-card spots have come down to four teams: Indianapolis, Miami, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. But Indianapolis has a 91 percent chance of grabbing one wild-card slot, according to the Football Outsiders playoff odds, and Miami's chances of making it require a set of machinations that would make even Rube Goldberg wince.

So really, we're talking one spot and two teams: two division rivals who face off Sunday afternoon. If Cincinnati wins, the Bengals are in. If Pittsburgh wins, the Bengals are in real trouble. They'll be tied with the Steelers at 8-7, but because the Steelers will have swept them this season, the Bengals will need to win at Baltimore in Week 17 while hoping the Cleveland Browns can upset the Steelers in Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh beat Cincinnati 24-17 when these teams met in Week 7, but a funny thing happened since that loss. While very few people were paying attention, the Bengals got better. A lot better, in fact, especially on defense.

Football Outsiders has a metric called "weighted DVOA," which lowers the importance of early-season games to get a better idea of how well teams are playing right now. And by that metric, Cincinnati, not Houston, is the third-best team in the AFC right now behind New England and Denver.

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Game day is upon us guys. Honestly it feels more like the playoffs to me, that's how much is riding on this matchup.

:bengal: :bengal: :bengal: They can do it! :bengal: :bengal: :bengal:

It is the playoffs. If they lose, the chances they make the postseason are basically nil. Time to take care of business!

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There is another way even beyond that -- Indy losing to KC and Houston would eliminate them and open the door for three AFC North playoff teams if all three are 9-7 (Steelers would win the division).

Let's just beat them though, because I definitely don't want to rely on the Chiefs or the Browns.

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There is another way even beyond that -- Indy losing to KC and Houston would eliminate them and open the door for three AFC North playoff teams if all three are 9-7 (Steelers would win the division).

Let's just beat them though, because I definitely don't want to rely on the Chiefs or the Browns.

Damn that was harsh, Indy scheduled to play Houston twice in the the last three games of the season, ouch.

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Lets just win!! It's going to be a dog fight!! We have to come to play the entire game. Can't do any of that prevent crap. Run screens on them to help open holes for the law firm, gang tackle on def and we have to cover their WR's all day; no cushion!!

More than just gang tackle, second guy to the ball needs to also go after the ball. Make the Pittsburgh players start worrying about holding onto the ball instead of getting that extra yard. Get in their heads.

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I would have liked to see Herron active to help out on special teams. Pittsburgh has seemed to have the Bengals' number on special teams.

I think Nugent's time in Cincinnati is almost over. If the Bengals make the playoffs, Still and Thompson can be game changers, they will have the freshest legs on the team. Kirkpatrick might be getting saved for the playoffs while nursing injuries, and I wish Iloka would get activated over Taylor Mays at least long enough so we can see what he has.

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