The Steelers have lost starting strong safety Troy Polamalu for the next 2-3 weeks due to him aggravating his already injured knee that caused him to miss P.T. earlier this year.  Polamalu has played in 5 games for the Steelers this season and he has made 20 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, he has defensed 7 passes and has 3 interceptions.  Tyrone Carter will replace Polamalu in the starting lineup while he is out of action.  Carter has played in all 9 games this season for the Steelers and he has made 18 tackles, defensed 3 passes, has 1 sack, forced 1 fumble and he has 2 interceptions (1 returned for a TD).  Carter is a solid player but the Steelers will miss Polamalu.

The Bengals took it to the Steelers earlier today holding them to a measly four field goals by Jeff Reed.  The offense laid an egg in the biggest game of the year for the Steelers.  Ben Roethlisberger had a awful game completing 20 of 40 passes for 174 yards with 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 16 yards (8.0 ypc).  Rashard Mendenhall also had a game to forget as he could only muster 36 yards rushing on 13 carries (2.8 ypc).  Mewelde Moore was effective but he didn’t get to play enough in this game to make a difference.  He carried the ball 2 times for 21 yards (10.5 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 14 yards (7.0 avg).  Santonio Holmes led the way in the passsing game for the Steelers today with 7 catches for 88 yards (12.6 avg).  The Steelers could only muster 226 total yards on offense (80 rushing, 146 passing) today and it was just not enough to compete with the Bengals who once again proved today that they are the better team this season.

CB William Gay (9 tackles, 2 passes defensed) and LB James Farrior (9 tackles) led a solid effort by the D for the Steelers in this game.  The Bengals finished up with only 218 total yards on offense (61 rushing, 157 passing) in this game.  The special teams helped cost the Steelers this game as Bengals’ rookie RB Bernard Scott ran back a kickoff 96 yards for a TD in this game.  The Steelers have dropped into second place in the AFC North with a 6-3 record.

This should be a very interesting ball game.  The last time these two teams played the Bengals stormed back from a 20-7 deficit to beat the Steelers 23-20 in Cincinnati.  The Bengals won’t be intimidated by Heinz Field as they are 3-0 away from home this season with all of the game being close.  The Steelers are 4-0 at home this season so in the famous words of ring announcer Michael Buffer, “Someone’s O must go”!  The Bengals will try to mix it up on offense as Cedric Benson has been a big key for them this year.  The Steelers are only allowing 70.4 yards rushing and 3.7 yards per carry this season so Benson will have to earn every yard this Sunday.  With the exception of OLB James Harrison (8 sacks) the Steelers have not been getting a lot of pressure on opposing QBs.  That could be a huge problem this week as I like Chad Ocho Cinco, Andre Caldwell and Laveranues Coles a lot better than the corners of the Steelers.  If Carson Palmer has time to throw the ball he should have a lot of success against a Steelers’ D that is allowing 214.5 yards passing per game this season.

The Steelers would like to mix things up on offense but Rashard Mendenhall could have a tough time finding running room against a Bengals’ D that is allowing only 83.9 yards rushing and 3.8 yards per carry this season.  The Bengals will be without starting linebacker Keith Rivers due to injury so that should help out the Steelers a little bit.  Ben Roethlisberger has been very effective throwing the ball this season (105.4 QB Rating) but he’s going up against a couple of corners (Jonathan Joseph and Leon Hall) who are having Pro-Bowl seasons so he will have to be careful with the football.  This is the kind of game that TE Heath Miller could dominate. 

PREDICTION:  STEELERS 23, BENGALS 20

The Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2) were finally able to do what every other team has failed to do all season against the Denver Broncos(6-2), force Kyle Orton into turnovers.  They were able to intercept Orton three times and Tyrone Carter had two of them.  Carter is a back-up to Ryan Clark who sat out as precaution due to a rare blood disorder that doesn’t react well to high altitude.  Carter took advantage of his playing time, and was able to return one of those picks 48 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter.  They also were able to hold the Broncos to only 27 rushing yards as a team, which is a very great feat as the Broncos average over 111 yards on the ground per game.  They let the offense only get 3 points, as the Broncos touchdown came on a Robert Ayers 54-yard fumble return for a score when Roethlisberger was hit from behind.  The only thing the Steelers defense couldn’t do, was slow down the Broncos’ talented receiver Brandon Marshall.  They did keep him out of the endzone, but Marshall caught 11 passes for 112 yards.

The Steelers offense had a very good game against a very tough Broncos defense, but couldn’t get anything going until the second half.  Carter’s interception return was the only score for the Steelers in the first half, but the Steelers were able to get 21 points in the second half.  Roethlisberger led the way, finishing with 239 yards, three touchdowns and one interception on 21/29 attempts.  The Steelers also got a great game from Rashard Mendenhall.  Mendenhall finished with 155 yards on 22 carries.  This was a big statement made by the Steelers and was their fifth straight win.

The Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2) are taking on the Denver Broncos (6-1) this week on the road.  This should be a defensive battle, with both teams having a very strong defense.  Ben Roethlisberger should do his best and controlling the clock and the ball and the Steelers will have a good shot at winning.  They will need Mendenhall and Parker to do some damage on the ground, as Big Ben wont be able to have a big passing day against the Broncos defense who only gives up 180 passing yards per game.

On defense, the Steelers need to try and force Orton out the pocket and into some mistakes.  Orton has done a great job taking care of the ball this year, but he is still just an average quarterback in a great system and the Steelers should try and prove that.  Moreno and Buckhalter are the biggest part of the Broncos offense, so they need to shut the running game down.  It will be a very difficult task though, as Orton can open things up by going to Brandon Marshall who is having a good year at receiver.  This will be close, but I think the Broncos will edge out the Steelers late.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Pittsburgh Steelers 24, Denver Broncos 28

The early returns on last April’s NFL Draft are not looking too good for the Steelers.  DE/DT Ziggy Hood (1st round, #32 overall) has only mustered 1 tackle to this point in the season for the Steelers.  OG Keith Urbik (3rd round, #79) has not got onto the field yet for the Steelers and they expected a lot more out of him.  WR Mike Wallace (3rd round, #84 overall) is the only rookie producing for the Steelers this season.  He has caught 21 passes for 368 yards (17.5 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Wallace has also carried the ball 3 times for 40 yards (13.3 ypc) and he has 2 tackles this season.  CB Keenan Lewis (3rd round, #96) has not got on the field this season just like fellow 3rd rounder Keith Urbik.  CB Joe Burnett (5th rounder, #168) has 8 tackles this season for the Steelers.  TE David Johnson (7th round, #241 overall) has caught 1 pass for 4 whole yards so far this year.  7th rounder A.Q. Shipley (#226 overall) has not played this season.  RB Frank Summers (5th round, #169 overall) and DE Ra’Shon Harris (6th round, #205 overall) aren’t even with the team anymore.  Horrible drafts like this one will catch up to the Steelers eventually so they need to start doing a better job in April.

Starting safety Ryan Clark will not be making the trip to Denver on Monday Night.  He has a sickle cell trait and the last time he played in Denver’s high altitude he almost died.  Clark has played in 7 games for the Steelers this season and he has 39 tackles, 4 passes defensed and he has 2 interceptions.  Tyrone Carter will likely replace him in the starting lineup against the Broncos.  He has played in 7 games this season and he has 11 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 forced fumble and he has defensed 1 pass.  Carter should do a decent job of filling in for Clark in this game.