Leave that Door Open (Please)

Their whole season has been leading up to this moment. The ups and downs, the rights and wrongs, the capitalizations and the mishaps, all leading to this game. If the Cincinnati Bengals win this game, they are not in the playoffs. They need two other things to happen, which aren’t insanely improbable, but it will be tough. Let’s have a look. Let’s say the Bengals beat the Steelers. They now need the Jets to beat the Dolphins, who remains just ahead of the Bengals, and they need the Chiefs to beat the Broncos, which is definitely possible. There are some caveats. First, the Jets stink. It will be tough for them to beat the Dolphins after Miami cruised through the Browns last week. The Bengals need the Jets to put together their best game if they want any chance of moving forward. Second, the Chiefs have already locked up the #1 seed in the AFC, so there is no real need to play their starters. If they do not play their starters, Denver is going to have a much easier time winning this game. So, to recap, the Bengals need a win this week, a Dolphins loss, and a Broncos loss. That is one hefty ask, but they were able to make it this far. I believe in the fire of this team; I don’t know how much I believe in the other scenarios.

The Steelers have had a rough go of it in the last three weeks. They’ve lost three straight, all to playoff teams, in brutal fashion. They’ve been shut down offensively and ran and passed all over defensively. They can’t find their step, and while they’ve already made the playoffs, they are fighting for that division title with the Ravens. They want home-field advantage as much as the next team, but they have to win this game and hope the Ravens lose if they want that to happen, because they’re slightly behind Baltimore. Russell Wilson needs to find some consistency this week, as he’s been all over the place. And their defense must be more of a dam to the Bengals water-like offense that seldomly is stopped in its tracks. I like the Bengals here, I’m not sure it gives them a playoff berth, but they’re going to do everything in their power to give them the best chance of advancing. Which is winning this game.