Pittsburgh Steelers (4-3) vs. Cincinnati Bengals (6-0)
Date: Sunday, Nov. 1, 2015
Kickoff: 1 p.m. ET
Site: Heinz Field (68,400) | Pittsburgh, Pa.
Playing Surface: Natural Grass
TV Coverage: CBS-TV (locally KDKA-TV, channel 2)
Announcers: Ian Eagle (play-by-play), Dan Fouts (color analyst) & Evan Washburn (sideline)
Local Radio: Steelers Radio Network, WDVE-FM (102.5)/WBGG-AM (970)
Announcers: Bill Hillgrove (play-by-play), Tunch Ilkin (color analyst) & Craig Wolfley (sideline)
National Radio: Sports USA
Announcers: Larry Kahn (play-by-play), Doug Plank (color analyst) & Troy West (sideline)
**
A LOOK AT THE COACHES:**
Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin
Overall regular-season record: 86-49 (.637)/ninth season
Regular-season record with Pittsburgh: 86-49 (.637)/ninth season
Playoff Record/Years: 5-4/five years
Cincinnati Bengals Head Coach Marvin Lewis
Overall regular-season record: 106-90-2 (.540)/13th season
Regular-season record with Cincinnati: 106-90-2 (.540)/13th season
Playoff Record/Years: 0-6/six years
STEELERS-BENGALS SERIES HISTORY
Series History: Series began in 1970
Overall Regular Season: Steelers lead, 55-34
At Pittsburgh: Steelers lead, 30-15
At Cincinnati: Steelers lead, 25-19
Neutral Sites: n/a
Streak: Steelers won previous three meetings
Last Regular-Season Meeting: Dec. 28, 2014, in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh 27, Cincinnati 17
Postseason Series: Steelers lead, 1-0
Last Post-Season Meeting: Jan. 8, 2006, at Cincinnati
Pittsburgh 31, Cincinnati 17
(preseason and postseason record not included in overall series record)
This week's game marks the 90th time the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals will meet in the regular season and the 46th time in Pittsburgh, where the Steelers hold a 15-game advantage (30-15) ... the two teams will meet for the 27th time in the month of November (17-9) and for the 10th in Pittsburgh (6-3) in the month of November.
**
THE LAST TIME VS. CINCINNATI**
Pittsburgh 27, Cincinnati 17
Dec. 28, 2014
Heinz Field (64,697)
PITTSBURGH - QB Ben Roethlisberger's 63-yard touchdown pass to WR Antonio Brown sealed the 27-17 victory for the Steelers over the Bengals at Heinz Field on Sunday Night Football. With the win, the Steelers won the AFC North and secured the No. 3 seed in the playoffs.
Early in the first quarter, Brown returned a punt 71 yards for a touchdown to give the Steelers a 7-0 lead. It marked Brown's longest punt return of his career and his third career returned for a touchdown. All three have come against the Bengals at Heinz Field.
Cincinnati tied it up, 7-7, when QB Andy Dalton threw a 17- yard touchdown pass to RB Giovani Bernard. The Bengals took a 10-7 lead on K Mike Nugent's 39-yard field goal but it would be the Bengals' only lead of the contest.
K Shaun Suisham connected on a 29-yard field goal to tie the game, 10-10. On the Bengals' ensuing drive, Dalton was picked off by CB Brice McCain for the second time in the game and the Steelers took over in Cincinnati territory. Roethlisberger then found WR Martavis Bryant for a 21-yard touchdown pass. Suisham added a 25-yard field goal right before halftime and the Steelers lead 20-10 heading into the break.
Both teams missed opportunities in the third quarter. Nugent missed a 50-yard field goal and Roethlisberger was picked off in the red zone. Dalton connected with TE Jermaine Gresham for a five-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 20-17.
The Steelers attempted a fake punt midway through the fourth quarter but P Brad Wing's pass was intercepted. Cincinnati took over and marched into Steelers' territory. Dalton completed a pass to WR A.J. Green but CB Antwon Blake stripped the ball from Green and then recovered the fumble.
Three plays later, Roethlisberger hit Brown for the game-winning score.
GAME SUMMARY
| Bengals (10-5-1) | 7 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| STEELERS (11-5) | 7 | 13 | 0 | 7 | 27 |
| TEAM | Q | TIME | PLAY | DRIVE | SCORE |
| PIT | 1 | 10:50 | Brown 71 yd. punt return (Suisham kick) | 7-0 | |
| CIN | 1 | 2:43 | Bernard 17 yd. pass from Dalton (Nugent kick) | 7-42; 4:01 | 7-7 |
| CIN | 2 | 12:32 | Nugent 39 yd. FG | 7-13; 3:09 | 7-10 |
| PIT | 2 | 7:36 | Suisham 29 yd. FG | 9-69; 4:56 | 10-10 |
| PIT | 2 | 5:52 | Bryant 21 yd. pass from Roethlisberger (Suisham kick) | 2-28; 0:46 | 17-10 |
| PIT | 2 | 0:40 | Suisham 25 yd. FG | 11-70; 1:37 | 20-10 |
| CIN | 4 | 11:14 | Gresham 5 yd. pass from Dalton (Nugent kick) | 15-89; 7:29 | 20-17 |
| PIT | 4 | 2:50 | Brown 63 yd. pass from Roethlisberger (Suisham kick) | 3-70; 1:01 | 27-17 |
STEELERS-BENGALS CONNECTIONS
Former Steelers/Bengals
• Pittsburgh LB James Harrison played one season (2013) in Cincinnati.
• Bengals HC Marvin Lewis served as the Steelers' LB coach for four seasons (1992-95).
• Bengals TE coach Jonathan Hayes coached with the Steelers from 1994-1996. His Brother, DL coach Jay Hayes, also coached with Pittsburgh from 1999-2001.
• Cincinnati LB Chris Carter was drafted by the Steelers in fifth round of the 2011 NFL Draft and three seasons (2011-13) with Pittsburgh.
• Bengals OQC/asst. OL coach Brian Braswell had a stint in Pittsburgh, doing spring/summer work for the Steelers in 2010.
Area Connections
• Steelers HC Mike Tomlin was the DB coach at the University of Cincinnati from 1999-2000.
• Steelers LB James Harrison is from Akron, Ohio, and attended Kent State University.
• Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger, an Ohio native, played his collegiate career at Miami University (Ohio) in Oxford.
• Steelers FS Mike Mitchell hails from Fort Thomas, Ky.
• Steelers WR/RB Dri Archer played collegiately at Kent State University.
• Pittsburgh FB Roosevelt Nix is from Reynoldsburg, Ohio, and also played Kent State University.
• Bengals HC Marvin Lewis was born in McDonald, Pa., and coached for the University of Pittsburgh from 1990-91.
• Cincinnati asst. HC/OL coach Paul Alexander was a GA at Penn State from 1983-84.
• Cincinnati DE Will Clarke is from Pittsburgh, Pa.
• Bengals TE coach Jonathan Hayes and DL Coach Jaye Hayes were born in South Fayette, Pa.
• Bengals WR coach James Urban coached at Clarion University from 1997-98.
• Bengals strength and conditioning coach Chip Morton was a strength and conditioning asst. at Penn State for five years (1987-1991).
NFL Connections
• Steelers STC Danny Smith and Cincinnati QB coach Ken Zampese worked together on the Philadelphia Eagles' coaching staff for one season (1998).
• Steelers OC Todd Haley was the HC in Kansas City from 2009-11 when Bengals DE Wallace Gilberry was a player for the Chiefs.
• Pittsburgh OL coach Mike Munchak spent five seasons (2004-08) with Cincinnati LB coach Matt Burke in Tennessee.
• Munchak coached Bengals CB Adam Jones for two seasons (2005-06) with the Titans.
• Pittsburgh ILB coach Jerry Olsavsky played for Baltimore when Bengals STC Darrin Simmons was on the Ravens' staff in 1998.
• Pittsburgh C/G Cody Wallace and Gilberry were teammates with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the start of the 2012 season.
• Steelers S Mike Mitchell and WR Darrius Heyward-Bey each spent two seasons (2010-11) in Oakland with Bengals OC Hue Jackson.
College Connections
• Steelers S Will Allen played four seasons (2000-03) with Bengals K Mike Nugent at Ohio State.
• Allen also played with Cincinnati LB A.J. Hawk for two years at Ohio State (2002-03).
• Steelers OT Marcus Gilbert was teammates with Bengals DE Carlos Dunlap (207-09) and S Reggie Nelson (2006) at Florida.
• Pittsburgh G David DeCastro was teammates with Cincinnati HB Ryan Hewitt for three seasons (2009-11) at Stanford.
• Steelers RB Le'Veon Bell played at Michigan State with Bengals CB Darqueze Dennard for three seasons (2010-12).
• Steelers WR Martavis Bryant was teammates with Bengals DT Brandon Thompson at Clemson (2011).
PIT-CIN SERIES HIGHS
Passing Yards
Steelers: Ben Roethlisberger - 386 (12/4/2005)
Bengals: Jon Kitna - 411 (12/30/2001)
Rushing Yards
Steelers: Le'Veon Bell - 185 (12/7/2014)
Bengals: James Brooks - 133 (9/30/1985)
Receiving Yards
Steelers: Lynn Swann - 192 (12/2/1979)
Bengals: A.J. Green - 224 (12/7/2014)
**
WHAT TO LOOK FOR**
FROM THE STEELERS
• With a win, the Steelers will have recorded its 325th win vs. an AFC opponent.
• With a win, the Steelers will improve to 428-274-2 during the regular season since 1970.
• The Steelers look to improve to 56-35 all-time against the Bengals in the regular season and to 31-15 at home.
• Pittsburgh will look to win its fourth consecutive regular season game against Cincinnati and improve to 18-9 in the month of November vs. the Bengals and move to 7-3 at home in the month of November vs. Cincinnati.
• With a win, would improve to 10-5 in the regular season against the Bengals at Heinz Field since the stadium opened in 2001.
FROM HEAD COACH MIKE TOMLIN
• A win would improve Tomlin to 87-49 during the regular season, inlcuding 50-18 at home.
• With a win, would become the third coach in Steelers history to record 50 home wins during the regular season.
• Coach Tomlin looks to improve to 13-4 in the regular season against Cincinnati and move to 7-2 at home vs. the Bengals.
• With a win, would improve to 21-13 in the month of November and to 11-6 in the month at home.
FROM THE STEELERS OFFENSE
QB BEN ROETHLISBERGER
• Needs 31 passing yards to become the first Steelers quarterback with 40,000 and to become the ninth passer in league history to reach the mark with one team.
• With 3,000 passing yards in 2015, will become the fifth quarterback in NFL history to throw for 3,000 yards in 10 consecutive seasons.
• Will record his 40th 300-yard passing game with his next such game in 2015 and become the ninth signal caller to do so with one franchise.
**
The best photos of WR Antonio Brown from the 2015 season.
WR ANTONIO BROWN**
• Is 58 yards from scrimmage from surpassing Willie Parker (6,075) for the seventh-most in team history.
• With 70 receiving yards on Sunday, will become the fifth player in team history with 6,000 ... 89 to surpass Louis Lipps (6,018) for the fourth-most in franchise history.
• With two touchdown catches, will move into a tie for ninth in team history with Mike Wallace (32).
• With his next 100-yard game, will become the third player in in franchise history with 21-such performances in the regular season (Hines Ward – 29 and John Stallworth - 25).
• With 100 receptions in 2015, will extend his franchise record of consecutive seasons with at least 100 catches to three.
• With 110 catches in 2015, will become the second player in NFL history to record 110 or more receptions in three consecutive years (Wes Welker, 2007-09).
• With 125 receptions in 2015, would become the first player in NFL history to record back-to-back seasons of 125 catches or more.
• With 1,000 receiving yards in 2015, will join Hines Ward (2001-04) as only the second player in franchise history to register 1,000 receiving yards in three consecutive years.
• Will surpass Lynn Swann (5,534) for the eighth-most yards from scrimmage in team history with 61.
TE HEATH MILLER
• Is 51 receptions from joining Hines Ward (1,000) as the second player in team history with 600.
• Needs six touchdown catches to become just the fourth player in Steelers history with 50.
• Is 199 yards from scrimmage away from moving into fifth in team history (Louis Lipps, 6,406).
• With 50 receptions in 2015, will record his fifth consecutive 50-catch season.
**
The best photos of Running Back Le'Veon Bell from the 2015 season thus far.
RB Le'VEON BELL**
• With 100 rushing yards on Sunday, will have nine 100-yard games in his NFL career.
• With 100 yards from scrimmage this week, will have totaled 22 games in his NFL career with 100 yards or more.
• With 1,000 rushing yards in 2015 will become the fifth Steelers running back to produce back-to-back 1,000 yard seasons and the first since Rashard Mendenhall in 2009-10.
RB DeANGELO WILLIAMS
• Will record the 20th 100-yard rushing game of his career with his next 100-yard performance.
• Will reach 50 rushing touchdowns in his NFL career with his next rushing score.
FROM THE STEELERS DEFENSE
DE CAMERON HEYWARD
• Needs 2.0 sacks on to record 5.0 quarterback takedowns in three straight seasons.
LB JAMES HARRISON
• One multi-sack game to break a tie with Jason Gildon (17) for the most such games in team history.
CB WILLIAM GAY
• Will match Rod Woodson (5) for the most interceptions returned for touchdowns in team history with his next pick six.
FROM THE STEELERS SPECIAL TEAMS
WR/PR ANTONIO BROWN
• Needs 198 punt return yards to move into second in team history (Antwaan Randle El, 1,650).
• One punt return for a touchdown to tie Antwaan Randle El (4) for the most in Steelers history.
