Steelers vs. Bengals by the Numbers

by cgolden on Nov 29, 2007 2:39 PM EST in News Comment 5 comments

3rd, AFC North    Standing    1st, AFC North
361.2 ypg (5th)    Offense    336.3 ypg (12th)
270.5 ypg (3rd)    Passing    194.5 ypg (22nd)
90.6 ypg (24th)    Rushing    141.7 ypg (2nd)
363.7 ypg (28th)    Defense    229.2 ypg (1st)

Cincy comes into the game with some momentum considering their offense has improved each of the past 5 weeks and the defense is even showing signs of life. Since scoring just 13 points in the first Pittsburgh game, they've scored more points each week and have won two of the last three games. Both wins during that time the defense has held opponents under 10 points. Pittsburgh on the other hand comes in with an offense that had its lowest yardage total of the season last week in the Mud Bowl (216) and its second lowest yardage total the week before in New York (263). Those two weeks were enough to drop the Steelers offense out of the top ten and they now rank 12th in total offense and the passing offense has taken a major hit dropping all the way to 22nd (194.5 per game).

The Good News: The Steelers have won 8 of the last 11 meetings and 11 of the past 15 against the Bengals. That includes 4 of the last 7 at home. They are looking to sweep the season series for the first time since 2004.

The Bad News: Pittsburgh is just 10-13 on Sunday Night Football although they are 4-3 at home. They currently have a two game losing streak on Sunday Nights with their last win coming just over two years ago against the Browns on Nov 13, 2005 (34-21).

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Field Conditions

Just what are they doing about the field, does anyone know? I know they are saying rain again for Sunday and I really don't want to see another mess like Monday. Cincy has the receivers and QB to air it out and all it takes is Ike to slip and it's 7. I know the same could be said in reverse but playing Cincy in those conditions seems alot more scary then then playing the fins.

by Kirk B on Nov 29, 2007 5:25 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Not much

It really looks like they think that a lack of rain this week will be enough to get the field in shape.

"The more violent team will win tonight" - Mike Tomlin.

by cgolden on Nov 29, 2007 5:31 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Smith likely to miss second consecutive game

Marvel Smith has not practiced this week and it looks like he'll miss his second game in a row so look for Max Starks to again fill in at left tackle. Starks will have another tough matchup against arguably the Bengals best defensive player, Justin Smith. Hopefully he plays as well as he did last week in the slop.

"The more violent team will win tonight" - Mike Tomlin.

by cgolden on Nov 30, 2007 11:04 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Rain forecast

There is a 50% chance of rain on Sunday and if it rains during the game, we could end up with a similar mess unless they've come up with a better drainage solution. They're supposedly aerating the sod but how much that helps remains to be seen. Also, in fall/winter temperatures the mush from Monday night won't dry that quickly making the sod more suspectible to tearing up as players make cuts. I think blowers of some sort are being used so that should help a bit on the surface.

I'm skeptical that the Rooney's are taking an aggressive approach to solving the short term problem. Their mentality is always slow and steady which is great when it comes to hiring coaches and other long term decisions but in this case it could backfire. A second straight nationally televised catastrophe would be the nightmare scenario for the Rooney's. They're getting a bit of a pass right now because the Steelers won. Lose to the Bungals on a bad field and people won't be that kind.

by santhome on Nov 30, 2007 11:08 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

very true on reactions from a win vs a loss

Players stood by thier desire to play on grass instead of turf but a loss coupled with another injury like the one Kreider suffered could change some opinions very quickly. (I'm not saying that the field caused the injury but he it's still a fact that he was hurt during a sloppy game.)

"The more violent team will win tonight" - Mike Tomlin.

by cgolden on Nov 30, 2007 11:17 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs