Today’s Game
Who: Steelers (2-3) at Bengals (3-3)
When: 8:20 p.m.
Where: Paul Brown Stadium
TV; radio: Ch. 5, 22; WLW-AM (700), WEBN-FM (102.7), WTUE-FM (104.7)
Series Stats
— Pittsburgh leads the all-time series 52-32, including 1-0 in the postseason.
— The Steelers are 25-18 in Cincinnati, including 11-2 in games at Paul Brown Stadium
— Pittsburgh has won four straight against the Bengals and nine of the last 11
— The Steelers are avearging 25.7 points in their last 15 games against Cincinnati. The Bengals have scored more than 23 just twice during that stretch
— The Bengals have lost seven straight and nine of the their last 10 against the Steelers when entering the game with a losing streak of two or more
The calendar still says October, but the atmosphere could feel like January tonight at Paul Brown Stadium.
Not only will the Cincinnati Bengals (3-3) and Pittsburgh Steelers (2-3) clash in a de facto elimination game as far as the AFC North Division is concerned, they will do so in front of a national audience on NBC’s Sunday Night Football.
“It’s huge,” Bengals cornerback Leon Hall said. “There’s no other way to put it.”
“We have to go out and get this win,” added defensive tackle Domata Peko. “Every time we have the black and yellow, it’s a huge game for us. I know it’s going to be really loud here. Sunday night game. We’re going to bring our ‘A’ game. We can’t be half-stepping around here.”
Already two steps behind the division-leading Baltimore Ravens (5-1), the Bengals enter tonight’s game having lost back-to-back games to teams who were a combined 1-8 at the time.
Another loss would send them into the bye week on a three-game losing streak, something the new regime, led by second-year quarterback Andy Dalton, has never experienced.
“A win would be huge, especially for this game, going against Pittsburgh, a great team,” Dalton said. “Just for us to get this taste out of our mouth of the two unfortunate losses, especially with having the bye week next week. We need to come out and play well, and we need to get a win in this one.”
Beating the Steelers is something else Dalton, A.J. Green and many of the other players on the roster have never experienced.
Despite the playoff run last year, the Bengals were 0-4 against Pittsburgh and Baltimore, and that number fell to 0-5 with the season-opening loss to the Ravens last month.
So a victory tonight is as important for the standings and as it for the psyche.
“For us to get to where we want to be, we’ve got to beat teams like that,” Dalton said. “Hopefully it starts (tonight). We feel like we’ve got a good attitude going in. Yeah, we’ve had the losses, but we’re confident in our abilities.”
The Steelers are just as desperate for a win as the Bengals, maybe more so. Mike Tomlin’s team is under .500 for the first time since 2009 when an 18-12 home loss to the Bengals started a five-game slide that dropped Pittsburgh to 6-7.
“We realize the opportunities to prove your worth are precious, but we also realize we have a lot of ball ahead of us,” Tomlin said. “There needs to be a sense of confidence and belief because we have guys who are capable.”
Dating back to the wildcard playoff loss at Denver, Pittsburgh has lost four consecutive road games for the first time since 2006, Bill Cowher’s final season as head coach.
But since Paul Brown Stadium opened in 2000, the Steelers have a better winning percentage in Cincinnati (11-2, .846) than they do in Pittsburgh (76-29-1, .722).
“I don’t have an answer to be honest with you,” Tomlin said when asked why his team is so success in Cincinnati. “Right now we’re 2-3 and we haven’t won one on the road. That’s our focus.”
Likewise, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said he doesn’t have an answer for why his team has lost eight consecutive primetime games. Nor is he searching for one.
The only thing Lewis is looking for is a way to put an immediate end to a slide threatening to derail the season.
“There is a sense of urgency with where we are in the season,” Lewis said. “There’s a sense of urgency because it’s a division game, it’s the Steelers. The sense of urgency is we’ve lost two in a row. The good taste we had is gone, and now it’s time to get back to winning.”
Trifecta of trouble
The three biggest reasons the Bengals are 3-3 and in danger of dropping too far back to catch up in the AFC North Division are
— A minus-7 turnover differential
— A third-down conversion rate of 26.7 percent, which is dead last in the NF
— A ground game that, when you eliminate Cedric Peerman’s 48-yard run on a fake punt, is averaging just 3.6 yards per rush.
“We just all have to come together and continue to work at it and be consistent and be our own worst critics,” said running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis, who has just 362 yards on 107 carries for a 3.4 average.
“I think there’s a lot to it,” left tackle Andrew Whitworth said. “It’s got to be executed better and we have to get on the same page. It’s looked good at times, and it’s looked bad at times. The key is just finding a way for everybody to get on the same page, communicate a little better.”
Getting the running game going would go a long way in solving the problems on third down as well. The Bengals have converted just 6 of 40 tries on third and 6 or longer.
And while the team doesn’t rank dead last in turnovers like it does on third downs, it’s close. Only four teams have a worse turnover differential than Bengals’ minus 7 (Kansas City minus 15, Philadelphia minus 9, Dallas minus 8 and Indianapolis minus 8).
And only one team has recorded fewer interceptions than Cincinnati’s two (Dallas has one).
Eight is Enough
The Bengals enter tonight’s game having lost eight consecutive primetime games since beating Baltimore 27-20 to open the 2007 season on Monday Night Football.
The list:
— Monday, Sept. 10, 2012 at M&T Bank Stadium: Baltimore 44, Cincinnati 13
— Thursday, Nov. 25, 2010 at New Meadowlands: New York Jets 26, Cincinnati 10
— Monday, Nov. 8, 2010 at Paul Brown Stadium: Pittsburgh 27, Cincinnati 21
— Sunday, Jan. 3, 2009 at The Meadowlands: New York Jets 37, Cincinnati 0
— Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008 at Heinz Field: Pittsburgh 27, Cincinnati 10
— Saturday, Dec. 15, 2007 at Monster Park: San Francisco 20, Cincinnati 13
— Sunday, Dec. 2, 2007 at Heinz Field: Pittsburgh 24, Cincinnati 10
— Monday, Oct. 1, 2007 at Paul Brown Stadium: New England 34, Cincinnati 13
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