Pittsburgh Steelers (9-3) vs. Cincinnati Bengals (2-10)
Date: Sunday, Dec. 12, 2010
Kickoff: 1 p.m., ET
Site: Heinz Field (65,050) • Pittsburgh, Pa.
Playing Surface: Grass
TV Coverage: CBS (locally KDKA-TV, channel 2)
Announcers: Greg Gumbel (play-by-play) Dan Dierdorf (color analyst)
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 Radio
Announcers: Tom McCarthy (play-by-play) Ross Tucker (color analyst) Tony Graziani (sideline)
Spanish Radio: Grupo Imagen - Destrito Federal
Steelers-Bengals complete game notes. A Look at the Coaches
* *
Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin
Overall regular-season record: 40-20 (.667)/fourth season
Regular-season record at Pittsburgh: 40-20 (.667)/fourth season
Playoff Record/Years: 3-1/two years
Cincinnati Bengals Head Coach Marvin Lewis
Overall Regular-Season Record: 58-65-1 (.472)/eighth season
Regular-Season Record at Cincinnati: 58-65-1 (.472)/eighth season
Playoff Record/Years: 0-2/two yearsSeries History: Series began in 1970
Overall: Pittsburgh leads 48-32
At Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh leads 26-14
At Cincinnati: Pittsburgh leads 22-18
Neutral Sites: n/a
Last Regular-Season Meeting: Nov. 8, 2010 (in Cincinnati)
Pittsburgh 27, Cincinnati 21
Postseason Series: Pittsburgh leads 1-0
(postseason record not included in overall series record)
Pittsburgh leads the all-time regular-season series 48-32 despite being swept last year in the series for the first time since 1998...Pittsburgh had won the previous five games in the series...the Steelers had won eight straight games versus the Bengals in Cincinnati prior to their Week 3 loss in 2009...Pittsburgh owns a 25-11 mark against the Bengals since the beginning of the Free Agency Era in 1993.
Steelers-Bengals Connections:
Several Steelers have ties to the Bengals and the Cincinnati area. Steelers with connections to the Bengals include head coach Mike Tomlin, who spent two seasons as the defensive backs coach at the University of Cincinnati. Defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau, who was an assistant coach with the Bengals from 1980-91 and 1997-00 and was the team's head coach from 2000-02. Defensive backs coach Ray Hortonplayed for the Bengals from 1983-88 and coached with Cincinnati from 1997-01. Assistant special teams coach Amos Jonescoached at University of Cincinnati (1999-2002).
There are a number of Bengals who have direct connections to the Steelers and the Pittsburgh area, including Head Coach Marvin Lewis, who is from McDonald, Pa., and was the Steelers linebackers coach from 1992-95. Lewis also coached at Pitt from 1990-91. Defensive line coach Jay Hayes, who is from South Fayette, Pa., was the Steelers' special teams coach from 1999-01. Tight ends coach Jonathan Hayes, Jay's younger brother, played tight end with the Steelers from 1994-96. Offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowskiwas the Steelers' wide receivers coach from 1999-2000.
What To Look For
PITTSBURGH TEAM NOTES
• The Steelers look to improve to 49-32 all-time in the regular season against the Bengals.
• The Steelers look to improve to 4-1 against AFC North opponents this year.
• The Steelers look improve to 27-14 all-time in the regular season at home in the series history.
PITTSBURGH INDIVIDUAL NOTES
RB Rashard Mendenhall
• Needs 102 yards rushing to surpass his career high for rushing yards in a season. He currently has 1,007 rushing yards after posting 1,108 rushing yards in 2009.
WR Mike Wallace
• Needs 132 yards receiving to post his first career 1,000-yard season. He has already surpassed last season's total of 756 receiving yards as he now has 868 yards in 2010.
• Needs five receiving touchdowns to break the team's single-season record, which is 12 held by Hines Ward (2002), Louis Lipps (1985) and Buddy Dial (1961).
LB James Harrison
• Needs 1.5 sacks to reach 50 for his career and become just the seventh player in team history to total at least 50 career sacks.
• Needs one forced fumble to match his career high of seven and to tie the team record for forced fumbles in a season, which he currently shares with Greg Lloyd (1994). Harrison had seven in 2008 and has forced six in 2010.
