Steelers week conjures up painful past

Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis yells instruction to the field during the first quarter of an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Gail Burton)

Credit: Gail Burton

Credit: Gail Burton

Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis yells instruction to the field during the first quarter of an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Gail Burton)


Steelers leaders

Passing

;Att;Comp;Pct;Yds;TD;INT;Rating

Ben Roethlisberger;471;314;3,705;26;8;101.7

Rushing

;Att;Yds;Ave;TD

Le’Veon Bell;216;1,046;4.8;3

LeGarrette Blount*;65;286;4.1;2

Dri Archer;9;41;4.6;0

Ben Roethlisberger;22;31;1.4;0

Receiving

;Rec;Yds;Ave.;TD

Antonio Brown;96;1,258;13.1;11

Le’Veon Bell;65;643;9.9;2

Heath Miller;51;583;11.4;2

Markus Wheaton;41;503;12.3;2

Kicking

;XPM;XPA;FGM;FGA;Pts

Shaun Suuisham;33;33;21;24;96

Defense

Lawrence Timmons (96 tackles, two sacks), Michael Mitchell (57 tackles, two forced fumbles), Troy Polamalu (56 tackles, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery), William Gay (44 tackles, two interceptions, nine passes defended), Jason Worldis (44 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 14 quarterback hits, one intercerption, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery), Cortez Allen (41 tackles, 11 passes defended), Cameron Heyward (36 tackles, four sacks), James Harrison (34 tackles, four sacks, 12 quarterback hits).

Steelers schedule

Sept. 7 vs. Cleveland W 30-27

Sept. 11 at Baltimore L 6-26

Sept. 21 at Carolina W 37-19

Sept. 28 vs. Tampa Bay L 24-27

Oct. 5 at Jacksonville W 17-9

Oct. 12 at Cleveland L 10-31

Oct. 20 vs. Houston W 30-23

Oct. 26 vs. Indianapolis W 51-30

Nov. 2 vs. Baltimore W 43-23

Nov. 9 at New York Jets L 13-20

Nov. 17 at Tennessee W 27-24

BYE WEEK

Nov. 30 vs. New Orleans L 35-32

Dec. 7 at Cincinnati

Dec. 14 at Atlanta

Dec. 21 vs. Kansas City

Dec. 28 vs. Cincinnati

Sunday’s Game

Pittsburgh Steelers (7-5) at Cincinnati Bengals (8-3-1)

1 p.m

TV: Chs. 7, 12

Radio: 700-AM, 102.7-FM, 104.7-FM

The Cincinnati Bengals will play their first home game in more than a month when they take on their old nemesis from Pittsburgh.

The Steelers cost the Bengals a first-round bye last year with a 30-20 win that was more of a curb-stomping than the score would indicate. Pittsburgh raced out to a 24-0 lead, a surge highlighted by Antonio Brown’s punt return for a touchdown. Steelers linebacker Terence Gavin’s broke punter Kevin Huber’s jaw and cracked his vetebrae with an illegal hit on the play, marking the latest in a long line of devastating injuries Bengals players have suffered at the hands of the Steelers. There was also Keith Rivers’ broken jaw courtesy of Hines Ward, Carson Palmer’s blown out knee delivered by Kimo von Oelhoffen in the 2005 playoffs and the near decapitation of Ken Anderson by Keith Gary.

The Steelers also have inflicted plenty of pain, emotionally at least, on the Bengals fan base by dominating the all-time series. Pittsburgh leads 54-34 and even owns a record of 25-19 in games played in Cincinnati, including an overtime win in the 2006 season finale that eliminated the Bengals from the playoffs.

But Marvin Lewis’ squad has won four of its last five against the Steelers at Paul Brown Stadium, and the Bengals can all but eliminate the Steelers from the AFC North race with a victory.

Bengals-Steelers connections

Lewis grew up in McDonald, Pa., near Pittsburgh. His first NFL coaching job was with the Steelers as LBs coach from 1992-95 under head coach Bill Cowher. He also coached at the University of Pittsburgh from 1990-91. … Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau was a Bengals assistant coach from 1980-91 and ’97-2000, and was Bengals head coach from Game 4 of ’00 through ’02. LeBeau is from London, Ohio, and played at Ohio State. … Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was defensive backs coach for the University of Cincinnati from 1999-2000. … Bengals DE Robert Geathers and Steelers DE Clifton Geathers are brothers. … Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger played at Miami University. … Steelers LB James Harrison played for the Bengals in 2013. … Steelers QB Bruce Gradkowski played for the Bengals from 2011-12. … Steelers OT Mike Adams, S Will Allen, DE Cameron Heyward and LB Ryan Shazier played at Ohio State, and Allen is a Dayton native (Wayne High School). … Bengals DE Will Clarke is from Pittsburgh. … Steelers FB Will Johnson is from Dayton (Centerville H.S.). … Bengals TE Kevin Brock spent time on the Steelers practice squad in 2009. … Bengals defensive line coach Jay Hayes and Bengals tight ends coach Jonathan Hayes are brothers who grew up in South Fayette, Pa. Jonathan Hayes played TE for the Steelers from 1994-96, and Jay Hayes was on the Steelers coaching staff from ‘99-01. … Bengals offensive assistant/quality control coach Brian Braswell worked with the Steelers prior to the 2010 season as part of the NFL’s Bill Walsh Minority Internship coaching program.

AFC North outlook

Baltimore (7-5): at Miami (7-5) Sunday. The Ravens find themselves just outside of the playoff picture, and the Dolphins are just inside as the current No. 6 seed, which makes this a huge game with possible wild card tiebreaker ramifications.

Cleveland (7-5): vs. Indianapolis (8-4) Sunday. The Browns are having their best season in years and still find themselves embroiled in a quarterback controversy. After coming on in relief last week at Buffalo and leading a late touchdown drive, rookie quarterback Johnny Manziel may be poised to make his first NFL start.

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