Fast Facts: Steelers (8-5) vs. Bengals (5-7-1)

by Joe Kuzma (joe_kuzma) on December 17, 2016

Fast Facts is a weekly series featuring a quick glance at the upcoming Steelers game.

Odds

The opening line has the Steelers as a 3 point favorite. The over/under is 47 points.

Team Records

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

Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin

Overall regular-season record: 100-57 (.637)/10th season
Regular-season record with Pittsburgh: 100-57 (.637)/10th season
Playoff Record/Years: 6-5 (.545)/six years

Cincinnati Bengals Head Coach Marvin Lewis

Overall regular-season record: 117-101-3 (.536)/14th season
Regular-season record with Cincinnati: 117-101-3 (.536)/14th season
Playoff Record/Years: 0-7 (.000)/seven years

Steelers-Bengals History

Series History: Series began in 1970
Overall Regular Season: Steelers lead, 57-35
At Pittsburgh: Steelers lead, 31-16
At Cincinnati: Steelers lead, 26-19
Neutral Sites: N/A
Streak: Steelers won previous two meetings
Last Regular-Season Meeting: Sept. 18, 2016, in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh 24, Cincinnati 16
Postseason Series: Steelers lead, 2-0
Last Postseason Meeting: Jan. 9, 2016, at Cincinnati
Pittsburgh 18, Cincinnati 16 – AFC Wild Card
(preseason and postseason record not included in overall series record)

This week’s game will mark the 93rd regular-season meeting between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, with the Steelers holding a 22-game advantage in the series (57-35)… Sunday’s game will be the 46th time the two teams will meet in Cincinnati where the Steelers have won each of the previous two meetings… the two teams have met 22 times in the month of December (Steelers lead, (4-8 overall and 5-2 on the road in the month).

Gameday Information

Date: Sunday, Dec. 18, 2016
Kickoff: 1 p.m. ET
Site: Paul Brown Stadium (65,515) | Cincinnati, Ohio
Playing Surface: UBU Speed Series S5M
TV Coverage: CBS (locally KDKA-TV, channel 2)
Announcers: Ian Eagle (play-by-play) | Dan Fouts (analyst) | Evan Washburn (sideline)
Local Radio: Steelers Radio Network | WDVE-FM (102.5)/WBGG-AM (970)
Announcers: Bill Hillgrove (play-by-play) | Tunch Ilkin (analyst) | Craig Wolfley (sideline)
National Radio: Sports USA
Announcers: Wayne Randazzo (play-by-play) | Mark Carrier (analyst)

Storylines

Pittsburgh leads the AFC North by one game over Baltimore heading into Week 15. Last week at Buffalo, running back Le’Veon Bell had 298 scrimmage yards (236 rushing, 62 receiving) and three touchdowns in the Steelers’ 27-20 win, joining Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Brown as the only players in NFL history with at least 225 rushing yards, three rushing touchdowns and 50 receiving yards in a single game. With three games remaining, Pittsburgh is in control for the AFC North division title.

The Bengals kept their playoff hopes alive with a 23-10 win at Cleveland last week. In the victory over the Browns, quarterback Andy Dalton threw two touchdown passes to tight end Tyler Eifert while running back Jeremy Hill rushed for 111 yards and a touchdown.

By The Numbers

Steelers

QB Ben Roethlisberger had 259 pass yards & 3 TDs in last meeting
Has 8 pass TDs vs. 4 INTs for 96.9 rating in past 5
RB Le’Veon Bell rushed for team record 236 yards with 3 TDs & had 62 rec. yards last week
Is 1 of 2 players in NFL history (Jim Brown, 1965) with 225+ rush yards, 3+ rush TDs & 50+ rec. yards in single game
Leads league with 161.6 scrimmage yards per game avg
WR Antonio Brown has 204 rec. yards (102 per game) in past 2 at Cin
Has 6 rec. TDs in past 6. Leads NFL with 93 catches & ranks 2nd with 11 rec. TDs
Since 2011, has 603 catches & 8,056 rec. yards, both most in NFL
WR Sammie Coates had 97 rec. yards in last meeting
TE Xavier Grimble had 1st career TD catch in last meeting
LB James Harrison has 5 sacks in past 6. Is franchise leader with 79.5 sacks
LB Bud Dupree had career-high 2 sacks last week
CB Artie Burns ties for lead among NFL rookies with 3 INTs

Bengals

QB Andy Dalton has 5 pass TDs vs. 0 INTs for 102.4 rating in past 3. Ranks 2nd in AFC with 3,555 pass yards
RB Jeremy Hill aims for 3rd in row with rush TD
Had 142 scrimmage yards (111 rush, 31 rec.) & rush TD last week
Since 2015, ties for 2nd in NFL with 19 rush TDs
TE Tyler Eifert has 4 TD catches in past 3. Leads NFL TEs with 18 TD catches since 2015
WR Tyler Boyd ranks 4th among NFL rookies with 48 catches & 5th with 526 rec. yards
DT Geno Atkins had 2 sacks last week. Since 2010, leads NFL DTs with 49.5 sacks
LB Vontaze Burfict has 10+ tackles in 2 of past 3 vs. Pit. In past 6, has 63 tackles (10.5 per game), 5 PD, 2 INTs & FF
LB Karlos Dansby led team with 12 tackles & had sack last week
CB Adam Jones had INT & 2 PD in last meeting
S George Iloka had INT last week
DE Carlos Dunlap leads team with 7 sacks

Team Rankings

Passing	Ben Roethlisberger: 283-440-3254-25-11-95.0	Andy Dalton: 302-467-3555-16-6-93.8
Rushing	Le’Veon Bell: 218-1053-4.8-6	Jeremy Hill: 195-788-4.0-8
Receiving	Antonio Brown: 93 (1L)-1130 (3L)-12.2-11 (2L)	Tyler Boyd (R): 48-526-11.0-1
Offense	374.0	371.1
Pass Yds/Game	261 (8th)	256 (11th)
Rush Yds/Game	112 (9th)	114 (8th)
Points Scored	317 (12th)	268 (23rd)
Points Allowed	256 (9th)	269 (11th)
Take/Give	+2 (12th)	+3 (10th)
Defense	342.7	357.3
Def. Pass Yds/Game	252 (21st)	238 (12th)
Def. Rush Yds/Game	90 (4th)	119 (25th)
Sacks	James Harrison: 5	Carlos Dunlap: 7
INTs	Artie Burns (R): 3	George Iloka, Dre Kirkpatrick: 3
Punting	Jordan Berry: 45.6	Kevin Huber: 46.1
Kicking	Chris Boswell: 71 (29/29 PAT; 14/18 FG)	Randy Bullock: 12 (3/4 PAT; 3/3 FG)