The Cincinnati Bengals are trying to break an ugly playoff streak of consecutive losses. The Bengals won their division while the Pittsburgh Steelers scooted in. Injuries will be the biggest factor in this AFC Wild Card game. The team that gets over them is the one that wins and advances to the next round of the postseason.
The Steelers have faced injuries all season and still managed to get into the playoffs. Ben Roethlisberger was down for multiple games with a knee injury. Le'Veon Bell was lost for the year. DeAngelo Williams has been ruled out for this game due to an ankle injury. The Steelers will be forced to play Fitzgerald Toussaint and Jordan Todman. Roethlisberger has struggled recently. He has tossed six interceptions in the past three games. The good news for the quarterback is that both Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant are healthy.
The Bengals benefitted all season from a career year from Andy Dalton. The quarterback appeared to have turned a page in his career and the Bengals were a better team because of it. However, a broken thumb to his throwing hand has sidelined Dalton with the Bengals in the playoffs and now AJ McCarron is preparing to take over after a few starts at the end of the season.
The Bengals narrowly missed out on their first-round bye, but did win the AFC North under the arm of McCarron. By all accounts, the backup quarterback has done well. He tossed a pick against the Pittsburgh Steelers while bobbling a snap against the Denver Broncos, but ultimately he has done everything asked of his which should offer up some confidence to Bengals fans moving forward. The issue for Cincinnati is that they have lost seven playoff games in a row. they have not won a playoff game in 25 years and now they will be counting on McCarron to break the ugly streak. He will be relying on Tyler Eifert and AJ Green while hoping that Giovani Bernard and Jeremy Hill step up on the ground.
The current roster of the Pittsburgh Steelers are no strangers to the playoffs. The team went through a lot this year with injuries to major positions, but the veteran experience led them to the AFC Wild Card game and a chance to continue forward in the playoffs. The Cincinnati Bengals have not had the best success in the limited time they have gotten into the playoffs and now they will be relying on their backup quarterback to lead them into the next round as the Bengals and Steelers prepare to face off.