Bengals vs Steelers: Position-by-Position Breakdown

Quarterback:

As much as it pains me to say it, the Steelers have a clear edge with Roethlisberger. Dalton was better in week 1 of the 2013 season, but Roethlisberger is 13-5 all-time against the Bengals (1-0 in the playoffs), 63% completion, 22 TDs, 18 INTs and countless deflating defeats. He also seems to have the ability to play better the bigger the game (see 2 Super Bowls for proof). Dalton on the other hand is 1-3 all-time against the Steelers (and has never scored more than 17 against the Steelers defense), 52% completion, 4 TDs, 5 INTs, and 172 y/g average. Dalton, unlike Roethlisberger, seems to shrink in big games (0-2 in the playoffs with 0 TDs).

	Bengals	Steelers
QB		ü
OL	ü
RB	ü
WR	ü
TE	ü
DL	ü
LB	ü
CB	ü
S		ü
K	ü
Coach		ü
Overall	ü

Advantage: Steelers

 

Offensive Line:

The Steelers gave up 36 sacks last year and their leading rusher (Dwyer) had only 623 yards. If that wasn’t bad enough, they lost their starting LT from the last 6 years (Max Starks) and replaced him with 2^nd year disappointment Mike Adams; they lost their starting G/RT from the last 6 years (Willie Colon) and replaced him with Ramon Foster, and now they lost their Pro Bowl center (Maurkice Pouncey) and will try and replace him with their 3^rd string center Fernando Velasco. In 2012, the Bengals OL was not great, giving up 46 sacks, but many of those were on Dalton. The Bengals did have a 1,000 back in BJGE and with the exception of Whitworth (out with injury), return the same bunch. While Anthony Collins may not be the player or leader that Whitworth is, he is a highly capable backup (faced Peppers in week 1 and allowed 0 sacks).

Advantage: Bengals

 

Running Backs:

No matter which way you slice this one, the Bengals have a clear advantage. BJGE is coming off a 1,000+ yard season and now they have added the quick, explosive Giovanni Bernard who can be used as the lead back or a WR. The Steelers were led by Dwyer’s pedestrian 623 yards in 2012. They addressed the issue in 2013 by drafting Le’Veon Bell and picking up LaRod Stephens-Howling, but Bell has yet to play with a foot injury, and Stephens-Howling was lost for the year to a knee injury in week 1. That leaves the Steelers with Redman as the starter (7 carries for 8 yards in week 1), the recently picked up Dwyer, and the severely overrated Felix Jones (0 carries in week 1). Despite the Bengals poor RB numbers in week 1 (19 for 63 and 1 TD), the Steelers were worse (14 for 31 and 0 TDs)…and their leading rusher for the game (Stephens-Howling and his whopping 6 for 19) was lost for the year. With these RBs and this OL combined with the Bengals DL, it will be a tall task for the Steelers to get the run game going on Monday Night.

Advantage: Bengals

 

Wide Receivers:

Not surprising that the team with AJ Green would have the advantage here as well. While Mohammed Sanu and Marvin Jones were disappointing yet again in week 1, Green alone had the same yardage as all of the Steelers WRs combined (162). While I like the quickness of Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders, they come in at 5’10” 186 lbs and 5’11” 180 lbs respectively (and those are generous numbers). Cotchery is the Steelers biggest WR at 6’1” and 200 lbs, but he is their #3 and clearly the least talented of the bunch. None of the Steelers WRs pose a deep threat and none cause matchup problems. AJ Green does both.

Advantage: Bengals

Tight Ends:

Another injury depleted area for the Steelers. While Heath Miller could play on Monday Night (unlikely), he is coming off an ACL tear late in 2012 and has yet to play a game since. That leaves the Steelers with 5^th year man David Johnson. Who, you ask? Exactly. He of 19 career catches in 3+ seasons. The Bengals on the other hand come with a 2 TE formation featuring 2-Time Pro Bowl Jermaine Gresham and 1^st round pick Tyler Eifert. Gresham and Eifert combined for 10 catches and 82 yards in week 1… more than half of Johnson’ career totals (19 for 157)!

Advantage: Bengals

 

Defensive Line:

Though it may have been tough to tell in week 1 (0 sacks), the DL is the strength of this Bengals team. They did get 4 QB hits on Cutler and after a year with 51 sacks, I wouldn’t expect this unit to be shutout for a second week in a row (especially not by this Steelers line). Despite 0 sacks in week 1, they did hold Forte to just 50 yards on 19 carries. I would expect something similar in week 2 being that Forte is 10 times better than any back in Pittsburgh and the Bears line is better than that of the Steelers. The Steelers DL did a pretty good job on Chris Johnson in week 1 (25 for 70), but like the Bengals DL, they were also shut out in the sack category in week 1 (Polamalu got 1). With the loss of Casey Hampton, this 3-4 defense has lost some of its effectiveness and Brett Kiesel will be 35 by week 3.

Advantage: Bengals

 

Linebackers:

With Foote, I don’t believe this is close. With their leader in the middle (Foote) out for the year and Jarvis Jones’ health in question, I have to give the Bengals the slightest edge simply because I believe Vontaze Burfict and James Harrison offer more big play potential than the Steelers LBs.

Advantage: Bengals

 

Cornerbacks:

The Bengals have 4 CBs (Hall, Newman, Jones, Kirkpatrick) that would likely all start above the 2 starters in Pittsburgh (Ike Taylor and Cortez Allen) and all 4 should be able to cover Brown and Sanders with little help. Taylor and Allen will need lots of help on Green, leaving the other 1-on-1 with Sanu or Jones, a matchup the Bengals should be able to exploit.

Advantage: Bengals

 

Safeties:

The Steelers have a clear edge at the safety position. Polamalu and Clark make up the best safety duo in the league. While Reggie Nelson is a good free safety and could be considered comparable to Ryan Clark, whoever starts next to Nelson is a borderline NFL starter at best and certainly can’t hold a candle to Polamalu.

Advantage: Steelers

 

Kicker:

If both are healthy, this is probably a push. With Suisham nursing a hamstring injury, the Steelers will either play Suisham with an iffy hamstring, or Cinnamon Shayne Graham. No matter which way the Steelers go, it will give Nugent and the Bengals an edge in the kicking game.

Advantage: Bengals

 

Coaches:

After last week’s debacle, I may revert back to my default rule…every team has the coaching advantage over the Bengals. The Steelers especially. Steelers fans may be getting antsy with Tomlin, but Steelers fans don’t have any clue what a “bad” coach is. Tomlin may be coming off a down year and a disappointing week 1, but Lewis is coming off a disappointing career (at least when it comes to big games). Tomlin has 1 Super Bowl ring and 1 Super Bowl appearance. Lewis has 0 playoff wins in 4 tries, has been questioned for years about his ability to prepare his players for big games, and seems to be overwhelmed himself by the timeout and replay process.  

Advantage: Steelers

 

Overall:

Very few times in my life can I say the Bengals were the better team and the team with more talent when they played the Steelers. This year, the talent level between these two teams is not even close. On paper, the Bengals talent overwhelms the Steelers, and on paper, this shouldn’t be a close game. Unfortunately for Bengals fans, this game will be played on a football field and in front of the the entire nation on MNF, not on paper. So, while the Bengals have a clear edge at nearly every position on the field, the Steelers have a clear edge at the 2 most important spots – quarterback and head coach – and advantages at those two spots can (and have many of times) overcome any talent differential (see the last 13 years of Brady and Belichick for a good example). While the paper matchup says the Bengals should win comfortable, I know better than to go by strictly paper – especially when it involves the Bengals versus the Steelers. Therefore, I see this game closer than it should be, but I still give the Bengals the advantage.

Overall Advantage: Bengals