Game Preview - Week 8: Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals

Pittsburgh: Coming off their bye the Steelers fell to the Broncos last week, committing three turnovers while attempting a season low 23 rushes. Expect Willie Parker to get a workout this week as the Steelers pass early to get a lead then finish the game on the ground. The Bengals defense is suspect, already allowing 100-yd games to Jamal Lewis, Shaun Alexander, Sammy Morris, and Larry Johnson. Linebackers Ahmad Brooks and Caleb Miller continue to miss practice time and likely won't play which should open running lanes for Parker and Najeh Davenport. WR Hines Ward returned after missing two games with a sprained knee and had no setbacks.

Start: QB Ben Roethlisberger, RB Willie Parker, WR Hines Ward, WR Santonio Holmes, TE Heath Miller
Consider: Steelers D/ST, K Jeff Reed
Sit: WR Cedrick Wilson, WR Nate Washington

Cincinnati: Running back Rudi Johnson (hamstring) continues to miss practice this week and likely won't play. Do the Bengals really need him? Kenny Watson ran for a career-high 130 yards and scored three touchdowns in a much-needed victory against the Jets. Rumblings in Cincinnati have Watson finishing the season as the starter giving Johnson time to heal. The Bengals don't get to play the Jets this week and will have a tough time running against the Steelers who rank 3rd against the run, allowing 75 yards per game. And if you think the Bengals have a homefield advantage in this series, here's a note for ya'…Cincinnati has lost six straight at home to Pittsburgh.

Start: QB Carson Palmer, WR Chad Johnson, WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh
Consider: RB Kenny Watson, TE Reggie Kelley, K Shayne Graham
Sit: RB Rudi Johnson, Bengals D/ST

Krueger's Rankings/Projections

Pittsburgh Steelers
Rank	Player	Projections
QB 6	Ben Roethlisberger	Pass: 265, 2 Rush: 0, 0
RB 2	Willie Parker	Rush: 110, 2 Rec: 2-20, 0
RB 44	Najeh Davenport	Rush: 15, 0 Rec: 1-5, 0
WR 10	Santonio Holmes	Rec: 6-90, 1
WR 13	Hines Ward	Rec: 6-85, 1
TE 9	Heath Miller	Rec: 4-40, 0

Cincinnati Bengals
Rank	Player	Projections
QB 3	Carson Palmer	Pass: 255, 2 Rush: 0, 0
RB 13	Kenny Watson	Rush: 75, 0 Rec: 3-20, 0
WR 5	T.J. Houshmandzadeh	Rec: 8-95, 1
WR 6	Chad Johnson	Rec: 6-85, 1
TE 14	Reggie Kelly	Rec: 2-25, 0

View all Week 8 Rankings or Projections

Past Results and Remaining Schedule

Pittsburgh Steelers
Week	Date	Opp	H/A	Score	Dif
1	2007-09-09	CLE	A	W 34-7	+27
2	2007-09-16	BUF	H	W 26-3	+23
3	2007-09-23	SF	H	W 37-16	+21
4	2007-09-30	ARI	A	L 14-21	-7
5	2007-10-07	SEA	H	W 21-0	+21
6		Bye
7	2007-10-21	DEN	A	L 28-31	-3
8	2007-10-28	CIN	A	W 24-13	+11
9	2007-11-05	BAL	H
10	2007-11-11	CLE	H
11	2007-11-18	NYJ	A
12	2007-11-26	MIA	H
13	2007-12-02	CIN	H
14	2007-12-09	NE	A
15	2007-12-16	JAC	H
16	2007-12-20	STL	A
17	2007-12-30	BAL	A

Cincinnati Bengals
Week	Date	Opp	H/A	Score	Dif
1	2007-09-10	BAL	H	W 27-20	+7
2	2007-09-16	CLE	A	L 45-51	-6
3	2007-09-23	SEA	A	L 21-24	-3
4	2007-10-01	NE	H	L 13-34	-21
5		Bye
6	2007-10-14	KC	A	L 20-27	-7
7	2007-10-21	NYJ	H	W 38-31	+7
8	2007-10-28	PIT	H	L 13-24	-11
9	2007-11-04	BUF	A
10	2007-11-11	BAL	A
11	2007-11-18	ARI	H
12	2007-11-25	TEN	H
13	2007-12-02	PIT	A
14	2007-12-09	STL	H
15	2007-12-15	SF	A
16	2007-12-23	CLE	H
17	2007-12-30	MIA	A

Offense Stats Comparison

	PIT Offense	CIN Offense	NFL Average
Points for	25.0	26.3	21.9
Rushing yards	155.3	99.7	111.0
Rushing yards per attempt	4.70	4.10	4.09
Completion %	65.0%	63.0%	62.2%
Passing yards	206.7	283.0	219.7
Passing yards per completion	11.02	12.07	10.63
Passing yards per attempt	7.17	7.61	6.61
Interceptions	1.0	2.0	1.1
Fumbles lost	0.3	0.7	0.7
Sacked	3.0	1.3	2.2

Note: Team statistics are shown as the average per game through Weeks 2 to 7 of the 2007 season after deducting the best and worst value from the data set. The exception is yards per rush attempt, completion %, yards per pass completion, yards per pass attempt and the NFL averages, which are each calculated based on totals through Weeks 2 to 7 with no adjustment.

Defense Stats Comparison

	PIT Defense	CIN Defense	NFL Average
Points against	13.3	30.7	21.9
Rushing yards	89.0	132.0	111.0
Rushing yards per attempt	3.84	4.74	4.09
Completion %	57.8%	67.9%	62.2%
Passing yards	178.0	243.0	219.7
Passing yards per completion	9.82	11.30	10.63
Passing yards per attempt	5.68	7.67	6.61
INT return	0.7	1.0	1.1
Fumble recoveries	0.0	0.3	0.7
Sacks	2.3	1.3	2.2

Weather

Check the current weather forecast for Cincinnati from Weather.com.

Team vs. Team History

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Season	Week	Date	Vis	Home	Score	Winner
2000	7	2000-10-15	CIN	PIT	0-15	PIT
2000	13	2000-11-26	PIT	CIN	48-28	PIT
2001	4	2001-10-07	CIN	PIT	7-16	PIT
2001	16	2001-12-30	PIT	CIN	23-26	CIN
2002	6	2002-10-13	PIT	CIN	34-7	PIT
2002	12	2002-11-24	CIN	PIT	21-29	PIT
2003	3	2003-09-21	PIT	CIN	17-10	PIT
2003	13	2003-11-30	CIN	PIT	24-20	CIN
2004	4	2004-10-03	CIN	PIT	17-28	PIT
2004	11	2004-11-21	PIT	CIN	19-14	PIT
2005	7	2005-10-23	PIT	CIN	27-13	PIT
2005	13	2005-12-04	CIN	PIT	38-31	CIN
2005	WC	2006-01-08	PIT	CIN	31-17	PIT
2006	3	2006-09-24	CIN	PIT	28-20	CIN
2006	17	2006-12-31	PIT	CIN	23-17	PIT

Note: Only playoff games from the 2004 to 2006 seasons are included in the team vs. team history. Playoff games from seasons prior to 2004 are not currently included in the database.

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