B6SPORTS

Page B6 THE TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT Sunday, November 24, 2019 1 p.m.

@ WRKW 99.1 FM WBVE 107.5 FM Paul Brown Stadium – Cincinnati WLLI 990 AM WNTJ 1490 AM KDKA, WTAJ Part of the script? Browns loss, brawl may be needed element in Steelers’ comeback tale

hen will face six Most of the time, that statement win when the team is coach Mike Tomlin was teams with Hollywood template seemingly at its lowest. It may have Wasked if there was anything a combined begins already arrived on Sept. 30 when an that can be learned from the alter- record of with 0-3 Steelers team battered an equal- cation that punctuated the team’s 33-33- a ly winless Cincinnati Bengals team 21-7 loss at Cleveland on Nov. 14 1. at Heinz Field. and used as a teachable moment, his That 27-3 win triggered a 5-1 run response was lightning quick. for Pittsburgh while the Bengals have continued losing. SHAWN CURTIS Maybe a second meeting with Cin- The series [email protected] cinnati – this one on Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium – will open a similar All-time (including playoffs): teams getting fined $250,000 apiece run of success to close out the season. Steelers lead 65-35 with 21 Steelers players getting All Regardless of the ending, Tomlin fined anywhere between $3,507 and with another big, is sticking to a familiar formula. Betting line/total: Pittsburgh $50,000. bad rival – Bal- “When you’re coming off a losing -6.5/38.5 points While Tomlin may not have found timore, the performance or a performance that teachable moments for his team as AFC North you didn’t perform that way that All-time in Cincinnati: it sits at 5-5 and 2 1/2 games out of lead- you’d like, more than anything,” Browns lead 31-19 a wild-card spot while three games Tomlin said. “We’re focused on us, out of a division lead, it did show in our readiness, our collection of peo- Current streak: Steelers, nine the most don’t-try-this-at-home way ple, the division of labor within it, wins imaginable that the Steelers are a getting the type of detail in our united bunch. That’s a revelation execution and putting together Last Steelers win in Cincin- that may have been buried in the type of plan that’ll allow nati: Oct. 14, 2018 – Steelers years past when drama was us to step out of the stadi- 28-21 a frequent element of most um with a much-needed discussions and reports victory. So that’s our focus. Last Bengals win in Cincin- about the Steelers. We’re singly focused nati: Sept. 16, 2013 – Bengals And for anyone who on that, and 20-10 has watched sports appropri- movies knows, a ately so.” team united by “Nothing to learn there,” Tomlin conflict – be it quipped before moving on to the internal or a next question during his press avail- donnybrook ers ability on Tuesday. against a – The outburst in question hap- heated waiting pened in the final seconds of one of rival at the end Pittsburgh’s most frustrating losses on and like- in years. It led to Cleveland’s Myles or ly the team Garrett getting suspended indefi- off the standing nitely after he removed Mason field – between Rudolph’s helmet and later tends to go the struck the Steelers’ quar- on an inspiring sea- terback with it. It led to son-ending tear. While Steelers center Mau- the NFL’s path from sea- rice Pouncey getting son to season rarely follows suspended for a Hollywood-style script, cast- three games ing the Steelers in the role of a team about to pick up steam against all odds may not be that far-fetched. – later A four-game winning reduced to streak, albeit with two games different faces, Steelers – for throwing punches and kicks at can be viewed a and a playoff Garrett. The brouhaha led to both serviceable audition for a team who berth.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (bottom) is taken down by Pittsburgh Steelers offensive guard David DeCastro (middle) and Maurkice Pouncey after pulling the helmet off quarterback Mason Rudolph on Nov. 14. Keep your eyes on these Bengals ... Ryan Finley – QB Joe Mixon - RB Nick Vigil – LB In two starts since the rookie signal caller has Mixon scored his first rushing of 2019 Even with James Conner missing Sunday’s game taken over for Andy Dalton, he’s passed for 282 in the Bengals’ 17-10 loss to Oakland last week. He with a shoulder injury, Pittsburgh may try to control yards and a touchdown with two interceptions. has three receiving , though, as Mixon’s the game on the ground with and Averaging 4.6 yards per attempted pass is a drop- season has been a mixed bag of production. a returning . Vigil, who leads the team off by more than two yards of what the Bengals were Mixon has averaged over 20 carries for 88 yards with 82 tackles, will be the gatekeeper of the Cin- getting from Dalton this season. Then again, 30 of over his past three games, indicating that he’s the cinnati defense from his middle linebacker post. Finley’s 61 attempted passes have been within 5 key cog in the Bengals’ offense moving forward. Vigil had 11 tackles against Pittsburgh on Sept. 30, yards of the line of scrimmage, indicating that the kid He got 62 yards on 15 rushes in Cincinnati’s first and has three other games with at least 12 tackles gloves are still on the North Carolina State product. meeting with Pittsburgh, keeping him on average on his ledger. If he attacks the top of the Steelers defense with with the 62.6 yards per game he has in five games The less his name is called, the better it will be frequent long passes, it’ll be a stunning development. against the Steelers. for the Steelers.

THE KEY MATCHUPS Mason Rudolph vs. Nov. 14 The hope is that Rudolph has a short memory concerning the Steelers’ 21-7 loss at Cleveland. Rudolph, who was intercepted four times and the center of an altercation that resulted in a $50,000 fine to the Steelers quarterback levied by the NFL on Saturday. Pitts- burgh will be working with a patchwork offense, as it has for most of the season. Rudolph will also be without center Maurkice Pouncey, who at least had his initial three-game suspension cut to two. With the issues that the Steelers will already be facing, dwelling on the Roster Roster Browns loss will only compound what could be a miserable afternoon. Name ...... Pos Ht. Wt. 44 Matakevich, Tyler . . . . . ILB 6’1” 235 Name ...... Pos Ht. Wt. 55 Reynolds, LaRoy ...... LB 6’1” 228 2 Rudolph, Mason ...... QB 6’5” 235 48 Dupree, Bud ...... OLB 6’4” 269 4 Bullock, Randy ...... K 5’9” 210 56 Nickerson, Hardy . . . . . MLB 6’0” 235 4 Berry, Jordan ...... P 6’5” 195 51 Skipper, Tuzar ...... LB 6’3” 246 5 Finley, Ryan ...... QB 6’4” 207 57 Pratt, Germaine ...... LB 6’3” 245 5 Lynch, Paxton ...... QB 6’7” 244 55 Bush, Devin ...... LB 5’11” 234 7 Dolegala, Jake ...... QB 6’7” 242 58 Lawson, Carl ...... DE 6’2” 265 Pittsburgh Steelers 6 Hodges, Devlin ...... QB 6’1” 210 56 Chickillo, Anthony . . . . . LB 6’3” 255 10 Huber, Kevin ...... P 6’1” 210 59 Vigil, Nick ...... OLB 6’2” 235 9 Boswell, Chris ...... K 6’2” 185 57 Canaday, Kameron . . . . .LS 6’4” 245 12 Erickson, Alex ...... WR 6’0” 195 60 Jordan, Mike ...... OG 6’6” 315 vs. slow starts on the road 13 Washington, James . . . . .WR 5’11” 213 62 Morris, Patrick ...... C 6’3” 300 14 Dalton, Andy ...... QB 6’2” 220 62 Redmond, Alex ...... OG 6’5” 320 14 Jones, Tevin ...... WR 6’2” 225 66 DeCastro, David ...... OG 6’5” 316 15 Willis, Damion ...... WR 6’3” 204 64 Jerry, John ...... OT 6’5” 340 Facing a winless team on the road should be a quick cure for all 17 Cain, Deon ...... WR 6’2” 202 67 Finney, B.J...... OG 6’4” 318 17 Morgan, Stanley ...... WR 6’0” 205 66 Hopkins, Trey ...... C 6’3” 316 18 Johnson, Diontae ...... WR 5’10” 183 71 Feiler, Matt ...... OT 6’6” 330 18 Green, A.J...... WR 6’4” 210 67 Miller, John ...... OG 6’3” 315 that ails the Steelers, but when the winless team has five one-score 19 Smith-Schuster, JuJu . . . . WR 6’1” 215 72 Banner, Zach ...... OT 6’8” 360 19 Tate, Auden ...... WR 6’5” 228 68 Hart, Bobby ...... OT 6’5” 310 losses in its 10 defeats, a full 60 minutes should be the prescription 20 Sutton, Cameron ...... CB 5’11” 188 73 Foster, Ramon ...... OG 6’5” 328 20 McTyer, Torry ...... CB 5’11” 188 71 Smith, Andre ...... OT 6’4” 325 22 Nelson, Steven ...... CB 5’11” 194 76 Okorafor, Chukwuma . . . . OT 6’6” 320 21 Dennard, Darqueze . . . . .DB 5’11” 200 74 Johnson, Fred ...... OG 6’7” 326 to put away the Bengals. That’s not always been the Steelers’ way, 23 Haden, Joe ...... CB 5’10” 224 78 Villanueva, Alejandro ...... OT 6’9” 320 22 Jackson, William ...... CB 6’0” 196 77 Glenn, Cordy ...... OT 6’6” 345 especially against perceived inferior opposition. Pittsburgh needs 25 Burns, Artie ...... CB 6’0” 197 79 Hargrave, Javon ...... NT 6’2” 305 23 Webb, B.W...... CB 5’11” 190 82 Carter, Cethan ...... TE 6’3” 248 26 Barron, Mark ...... ILB 6’2” 230 80 Holton, Johnny ...... WR 6’3” 190 25 Bernard, Giovani ...... RB 5’9” 205 83 Boyd, Tyler ...... WR 6’2” 203 every win it can get if it hopes to avoid a second straight season 28 Hilton, Mike ...... CB 5’9” 184 81 Gentry, Zach ...... TE 6’8” 265 26 Mabin, Greg ...... CB 6’2” 195 85 Eifert, Tyler ...... TE 6’6” 255 without a playoff berth. A potential loss to Cincinnati not only puts 29 Kelly, Kam ...... DB 6’2” 205 88 Vannett, Nick ...... TE 6’6” 261 28 Mixon, Joe ...... RB 6’1” 220 87 Uzomah, C.J...... TE 6’6” 260 30 Conner, James ...... RB 6’1” 233 89 McDonald, Vance ...... TE 6’4” 267 29 McRae, Tony ...... CB 5’10” 185 89 Sample, Drew ...... TE 6’5” 258 Pittsburgh at 5-6, but could likely rock the confidence of a lot of the 31 Layne, Justin ...... CB 6’2” 192 90 Watt, T.J...... OLB 6’4” 252 30 Bates, Jessie ...... FS 6’1” 200 90 Zettel, Anthony ...... DE 6’4” 275 33 Edmunds, Trey ...... RB 6’2” 223 92 Adeniyi, Ola ...... LB 6’1” 248 32 Williams, Trayveon . . . . . RB 5’8” 206 91 Tupou, Josh ...... DT 6’3” 345 younger players filling in at key spots thanks to injuries or suspen- 34 Edmunds, Terrell ...... SS 6’1” 217 93 McCullers-Sanders, Dan . . .DT 6’7” 352 36 Williams, Shawn ...... SS 6’0” 212 93 Brown, Andrew ...... DT 6’3” 290 sions. 37 Dangerfield, Jordan . . . . DB 5’11” 199 94 Alualu, Tyson ...... DE 6’3” 304 40 Wilson, Brandon ...... DB 5’10” 200 94 Hubbard, Sam ...... DE 6’5” 265 38 Samuels, Jaylen ...... RB 6’0” 225 96 Buggs, Isaiah ...... DT 6’3” 295 42 Fejedelem, Clayton . . . . .DB 6’0” 205 95 Wren, Renell ...... DT 6’5” 318 39 Fitzpatrick, Minkah . . . . . FS 6’1” 207 97 Heyward, Cameron . . . . .DE 6’5” 295 46 Harris, Clark ...... LS 6’5” 250 96 Dunlap, Carlos ...... DE 6’6” 285 40 Whyte, Kerrith ...... RB 5’10” 204 98 Williams, Vince ...... ILB 6’1” 233 50 Evans, Jordan ...... OLB 6’3” 242 97 Atkins, Geno ...... DT 6’1” 300 41 Spillane, Robert ...... LB 6’1” 229 53 Price, Billy ...... OG 6’4” 310 99 Billings, Andrew ...... DT 6’1” 328 THE PREDICTION Steelers 20, Bengals 10 2019 Schedule 2019 Schedule Calling a 10-point win against anyone might be a tough ask when remembering the Steelers’ last outing, but Pittsburgh will be facing a Sept. 8...... at New England...... L 33-3 Sept. 8...... at Seattle...... L 21-20 team that is the worst in the NFL in yards allowed per game at 425.1. It Sept. 15...... Seattle...... L 28-26 Sept. 15...... San Francisco...... L 41-17 Sept. 22...... at San Francisco...... L 24-20 Sept. 22...... at Buffalo...... L 21-17 hasn’t been easy for the Steelers offense to find a groove at all this sea- Sept. 30...... Cincinnati...... W 27-3 Sept. 30...... at Pittsburgh...... L 27-3 son, but Cincinnati’s generous defense could activate a few sparks for the Oct. 6...... Baltimore...... L 26-23 (OT) Oct. 6...... Arizona...... L 26-23 Oct. 13...... at L.A. Chargers...... W 24-17 Oct. 13...... at Baltimore...... L 23-17 Steelers offense while the defense continues to chug along. Oct. 28...... Miami...... W 27-14 Oct. 20...... Jacksonville...... L 27-17 Steelers-Bengals games in Cincinnati always seem to carry an edge to Nov. 3...... Indianapolis...... W 26-24 Oct. 27...... L.A. Rams (at London)...... L 24-14 Nov. 10...... L.A. Rams...... W 17-12 Nov. 10...... Baltimore...... L 49-13 them. That usually isn’t a good thing. An edgy and emotional win by Pitts- Nov. 14...... at Cleveland...... L 21-7 Nov. 17...... at Oakland...... L 17-10 burgh as a rematch with the Browns looms next week feels like the order Nov. 24...... at Cincinnati...... 1 p.m. Nov. 24...... Pittsburgh...... 1 p.m. of the day. Dec. 1...... Cleveland...... 1 p.m. Dec. 1...... N.Y. Jets...... 1 p.m. Dec. 8...... at Arizona...... 4:25 p.m. Dec. 8...... at Cleveland...... 1 p.m. Pittsburgh will struggle to score points early, but should also hold Cin- Dec. 15...... Buffalo...... 1 p.m. Dec. 15...... New England...... 1 p.m. cinnati at bay until a late Bengals touchdown sets the final. Dec. 22...... at N.Y. Jets...... 1 p.m. Dec. 22...... at Miami...... 1 p.m. Dec. 29...... at Baltimore...... 1 p.m. Dec. 29...... Cleveland...... 1 p.m. - Shawn Curtis