Are You Ready for Some Ugly Football?

[|High School Harry|]

http://bengalswire.usatoday.com/2017/10/18/bengals-vs-Stealers-predictions-are-you-ready-for-some-ugly-football/

 

Bengals vs. Stealers predictions: Are you ready for some (ugly) football?

 

If the Cincinnati Bengals (2-3) can go into Pittsburgh and defeat the Stealers (4-2) on Sunday, they will be right back in the division race.

Easier said than done.

 

The biggest obstacle for the Bengals will be overcoming issues on the offensive line, both in the passing game and the rushing attack. Joe Mixon has had to work harder for his yards than just about any other running back in the NFL; according to Pro Football Focus, 85 percent of his yards have come after contact:

And according to Adam Spinks of RBscout.com, Mixon is only getting .33 yards before the “Potential Tackle Point,” which is last among the 28 running backs he charted. But he’s getting 2.46 yards after the PTP, showing, again, most of his yards have come on his own.

The good news is, the Stealers are allowing a hearty 4.7 yards per carry to opposing backs, so there is some hope that the offensive line will be able to open up some holes and that the running backs can surpass their season average of 3.2 yards per carry.

 

Meanwhile, quarterback Andy Dalton will have to go to battle against a team that has had his number with perhaps the worst protection he’s ever had. Dalton has struggled against the Stealers throughout his career, even when he had good to great offensive lines; he has a career record of 3-9 against Pittsburgh, with 11 interceptions in those 12 games. And now he faces a Pittsburgh defense that already has 20 sacks, while the Bengals offensive line has allowed 15 sacks.

If Mixon can’t break free and Dalton is forced to get rid of the ball quickly to avoid sacks and turnovers, Cincinnati will have a familiar problem: getting into the end zone. Relying on A.J. Green to produce two huge plays (like he did against the Buffalo Bills) isn’t a sound strategy. Either Brandon LaFell, Cody Core or Josh Malone will need to make some tough plays, or John Ross will have to make his debut and provide a few electrifying plays, because points aren’t going to come easy against a Pittsburgh squad allowing just 17 per game. (And if you take out a bizarre Week 5 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, in which Ben Roethlisberger threw five interceptions, the Stealers are allowing just 14.4 points per game.)

 

Of course, Pittsburgh’s offense has problems of its own. Le’Veon Bell, one of the top running backs in the NFL, has just 134 yards on 42 carries in two home games — though he’s had two stellar road games against the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens. And Roethlisberger has not looked like his normal prolific self this year despite weapons galore and a strong offensive line. The 35-year-old quarterback has one touchdown and six interceptions in his last two games, and the lone touchdown (against the Kansas City Chiefs) was almost intercepted before Antonio Brown made a spectacular play in double coverage. In other words, Roethlisberger has become a liability, as opposed to the driving force behind the team’s success. And now he not only has to face old friends Geno Atkins, Carlos Dunlap and Vontaze Burfict, but also the best rookie pass rusher in some time: Carl Lawson.

 

While Roethlisberger has the edge in winning during the Dalton-Green era, the last time the Bengals’ fielded a top defense, Pittsburgh’s signal caller did not find much success against Cincinnati’s secondary. In 2015, Roethlisberger threw just one touchdown pass and six interceptions in two regular-season games against the Bengals. And now the defense (especially the pass defense) is arguably even better. This year, the defense is allowing fewer points, yards and is on pace for far more sacks than it had in 2015.

 

In addition to up-and-comers like Darqueze Dennard and William Jackson III, the Bengals still feature Adam Jones, who has been able to shut down Brown like no other cornerback the last few years.

If Jones can continue his stellar play against Brown, Roethlisberger — who has grown increasingly reliant upon his No. 1 option — will likely struggle.

 

 

The Stealers, for all their problems on offense, are coming off a road upset of the previously 5-0 Kansas City Chiefs. And Bell is more than likely to break out in Heinz Field at some point. Lawson and Atkins will probably get to Roethlisberger, but he’ll fight through it and take some shots downfield, perhaps even to Martavis Bryant, who was rumored to be frustrated to the point of asking for a trade.

 

The Bengals, meanwhile, have yet to demonstrate they can beat a top team. Even after gaining his composure under new offensive coordinator Bill Lazor, Dalton is still hesitant to throw downfield. Mixon will have to go Corey Dillon (one-man wrecking ball) on the Stealers to have a big game, because the lack of push up front isn’t something that the bye week can fix.

Even when they were the more talented team, the Bengals have struggled against the Stealers in recent years. There is a mental component to football, and Pittsburgh clearly has the edge in this rivalry.

 

Stealers 21, Bengals 13

 

 

 

 

[|High School Harry|]

 

[mhfinks]

My prediction....

Andy throws for 250 yards - 1 TD 1 INT and gets sacked 5Xs

Mixon and crew Run for 95 YDS total and score 1 TD

Bengals Kick three field goals and miss one - 6 points

 

Defense gets 3 Sacks - 5 Hits on Ben and an additional 5 QB hurries - They pick Big Ben off X1 and it goes for a TD

Allow 100 yards rushing for a Bell TD, 150 yards passing for a Brown TD and kick one field goal - after that they are shut down.....

 

Final Score Bengals 27 - Suckburg 17

Doesn't matter what happens Sunday - This is the game i want to see.... LOL