Division race once again could be over on Sunday...

With a Steelers win over the Bengals and a Ravens loss in Minnesota. A Steelers win puts them at 5-2 and 3-0 in the division and a Bengals loss puts them at 2-4 and 1-2 in the division. So essentially this is do or die for the Bengals as far as them having any chance to still win the AFC North over the Steelers. A Bengals win they are 3-3 to the Steelers 4-3 and are just a 1/2 game behind the Steelers with a head to head win. A loss the Bengals are 2-4 to the Steelers 5-2 and essentially 3 games behind the Steelers while losing the tiebreaker to them. So needless to say this is it for the Bengals on Sunday as far as them still having any legit chance to still win the division. They absolutely MUST win this game.

As for the Ravens if they lose in Minnesota and the Steelers win they drop to 3-4 and the Steelers would be 5-2 and really 3 games up on the Ravens with the tiebreaker. And let's face it the Ravens stink this year so a few more losses by them and I believe their season could come crashing down. So once again another golden opportunity for the Steelers to put a strangle hold on this division with a win and a Ravens loss. Let's see if they can take advantage of it.

 

Hello. You're right. This game against the Bengals will show if the Steelers are legit as far as a super bowl contender. The AFC is wide open this year and there for the taking. If we are not fired up for this game we will lose.
I pray to God that we don't come out flat and play lethargic like we do have the time. Tomlin needs to light a fire under these player's asses. Hopefully the good Ben shows up!

 

Division races are never over this soon, with 10 games left a lot can happen before the division winner gets crowned, it's important for the steelers to win this game to increase their lead but they cant let up and lose their advantage with 10 games left because they never know which team can get on a hot streak and if they hit a slump it can become another battle to win this division.............

 

Think this was the same thing Chiefs fans were saying Thursday morning.

 

Because of the division numbers you mentioned Steel-Ben, Cincy will be that “dangerous desperate” team.

Because Tuitt is not complimenting Cam an the rest, our D suffers a bit.

Marvin, when he does have success against us, usually does so in Pittsburgh.

So if the Steelers were to lose against a pretty decent Cincy team-aside from their O-line, I wouldn’t be surprised-just disappointed.

 

As long as Cinci has Bird**** on their team, they will come out ready to play.

 

Far too early to be thinking about wrapping up the division. I just want to see the Steelers play a complete game.

 

I don’t recall the last time a 5 win team won a division, so, I’m going to have to disagree.

 

Gonna be a slopfest

 

One hard, tough fought game for certain.


Should we win though, not just the North but also the AFC will be ours for the time being.

 

I think this will be a super ugly game. I don't care what happens in-game as long as we come out one-point better and injury free.

 

I do however remember when a 7 win team won a division...

 

The OP has some solid points. It's not like we are locks if all works out, but we will have a commanding lead. As far as how I see the game going . The Bengals should sell out against the run and force Ben to beat them.I would like us to stick with the run and trust the Defense .

I do not believe that the Bengals can score points at will. Just stick to the plain and keep pounding the rock and let our D do the rest .There is no magic Ben to the rescue our Defense should now be the rescue plan. If Ben can make a few timely plays then we should get a lead at that point no rescue needed. Just keep the game close and we should win.Do not panic . PWP in full effect .

 

If we win & the Ravens lose, your right we're in good shape right now. But what if the unthinkable happens to Ben ..similar to what they're going thru in Greenbay?? How would our season look then?? Unless your the Patriots, it's never that simple...

 

It would take a serious injury to Ben or a complete and total collapse by the Steelers to not win this division if they are able to beat Cincy and the Ravens lose in Minnesota and the Steelers go up essentially 3 games with the tiebreaker in hand on both the Ravens and the Bengals. It won't be impossible for either the Bengals or Ravens to overcome but it would be highly unlikely as well.

 

The way the AFC North is looking 7-8 wins can win the division.

Truth be told, Barring major injuries I'm pretty damn confident the division is the Steelers. And if Ben can give us one more push we have a shot at going to the SB.

 

If they get the division with only 7 or 8 wins, the super bowl will not happen this year. I'm pretty sure however, that this team will have double digit wins, the more the better

 

As frustrating as this team can be, it's important to remember that the Jags defense is legit -- the secondary is just incredible, and Haley is a large part of the reason (not letting Ben off the hook whatsoever) that we lost. If we run Bell, we probably win.

And if Bryant makes the TD catch in the first, we beat the Bears.

So yes, we aren't a bad team at all.

That being said, barring big-time injuries, we win at least 10. I say 11-5 is our calling.

 

Yeah right, New England will be there in the end to decide the AFC.

 

I hope we bring our A game.

 

It seems nowadays Ben needs to be basically a game manager and not make mistakes. What made Ben great in the past was his ability to escape the pocket and extend plays. Now he just stays in the pocket and throws just as many bad passes as good ones. In the last few years Ben went from great to average it seems to me. Am I off base here?

 

This is one of those games that Tomlin gets criticized for and rightfully so. You'' be able to tell what team shows up about half way into the first quarter, if they are flat there is a good chance it stays like that the entire game, especially after a big win last week. I watched several sports shows and the talking heads are already saying Pittsburgh will win but they are prone to lose this exact type of game. This is why I'm critical of Mike Tomlin, here is a perfect opportunity to solidify the lead in the division and just about every time they've been in this same position in the past they end up having to be in a must win situation at the last game of the season because of 3 poorly played games against teams they should be able to beat. It isn't just me, as I said before the talking heads on NFL network and on FS1 have already mentioned this and that is because this is a pattern that repeats itself over and over and I'll be the first to give Tomlin credit when this kind of thing stops. When I say stops I mean that it becomes rare enough that every time we play a sub .500 team the sports shows stop bringing that stat up, so right now is the perfect time to stop the bleeding and for Tomlin to put his critics (myself) to rest by having a good game plan and being able to adjust if things aren't going well. I know, I'm being a downer already but this same type of thing happened last season and the season before and the one before that too, this has the makings of a Tomlin stinker.

 

The game is simple.. No need to overthink it. Have Ben throw less then 25 times and Bell should run 30+ times to win. The stats dont lie regarding both.

 

I have a bad feeling about this game. Steelers offense is gonna fart around all day with 3 and outs and numerous punts. Steelers D will give up some big runs. Bengals have beaten Steelers several times at Heinz.

 

Couldn't help yourself, could you?