Heading into the postseason, both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals have their fair share of uncertainty.

For the Pittsburgh Steelers, it was getting help to even be in this position: after stumbling to a bad Ravens team two weeks ago, the Steelers needed help from the Buffalo Bills to make the 6th seed in this tournament.

Last year, the AFC North Champion Steelers dropped a loss at home to division rival, and 6th seed Baltimore… without their starting RB. Now the Steelers will face another division opponent, and for the second year in a row, face that familiar foe without their starting RB… or their backup RB, be it the case with DeAngelo Williams, who is reportedly out for Saturday’s game.

The #Steelers consider RB DeAngelo Williams (foot) out vs. #Bengals, sources say. If they win, there's a chance he plays next week.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 8, 2016

Yet, the speculation can be flipped both ways. This time, the Bengals are the AFC North Champion who will host a 6th seed division opponent at home. The Bengals are also facing their own injury woes, in that starting QB Andy Dalton (who got injured in the previous game against Pittsburgh) will not be available. In his place, AJ McCarron will make the start.

While there has been talk of McCarron playing in big games in college (with Alabama) this furthers the uncertainty of a Bengals team making it’s 5th consecutive trip to the playoffs, because the previous 4 trips have all ended in losses: the Bengals haven’t won a postseason game since 1991. It’s curious to think, can McCarron do what Dalton couldn’t?

And will the Steelers allow it to happen?

Ben Roethlisberger is 9-3 against the Bengals recently and has only lost 5 postseason starts, however, the Steelers have not won a playoff game since 2010: 3 of Ben’s 5 losses have come since then: the Ravens, Tim Tebow‘s touchdown pass with the Broncos (when the NFL first implemented the new overtime rules) and of course, the Super Bowl loss to the Green Bay Packers.

Then there is the loss of both Bell and Williams. Fitzgerald Toussaint, an undrafted player acquired earlier this year from the Ravens, and recently promoted from the practice squad, will have big shoes to fill. But like McCarron, Toussaint comes from a “big game” atmosphere having played at the Big House in Michigan.

This is a different scenario than the Steelers faced with Ben Tate in their last playoff game, where Tate was signed the same week as the game and had limited practice. In this situation, Toussaint has been with the team in some capacity for the entire season. As long as a combination of he, Jordan Todman, and Will Johnson can block defenders and protect the football, it will go a long way in securing the Steelers passing game, which had been absent in the previous encounters with Cincinnati.

I should also note, that the only 1000 yard rusher in the playoffs is Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson. In other words, every other team has injury concerns and/or relies on their passing game.

Big Ben will be relied upon to bring his “A” game after throwing 7 interceptions in his last 4 games, including another 3 picks in his first game against the Bengals (which is the game Ben returned from injury.)

In all, it will be up to the Steelers to possibly lean on their no-huddle offense and pickup the pace early in this game. One thing I have committed to theory is, the Bengals do not want to be down at home early, after having a long, depressing playoff history. I can’t see Cincinnati taking the ball first and possibly going 3 and out. The Steelers will definitely continue their aggressive approach to showing their offense first when winning the coin toss. For all intents and purposes, the Bengals might want to give their own defense a crack first.

Then there’s the Steelers defense, which has been up and down all season, but a formidable unit at times. I suspect that Pittsburgh continues using Brandon Boykin in the slot, but I would also hope to see Ross Cockrell on the outside, rather than Antwon Blake, as the latter will certainly give way to Cincy’s AJ Green; something the Steelers cannot afford.

In all, both teams are entering this game nervous and confident. Nervous, because they are both capable of losing. Confident, because they are both capable of losing.

However, I’m of the belief that a team lead by an experienced, veteran quarterback (the better quarterback) should have the edge. As Ben goes, so do the Steelers.

I can only hope they go the distance.