STEELERS-BENGALS Cincinnati hopes history repeats

Rudi Johnson could be the key to a Bengals' victory today.
CINCINNATI (AP) -- The Bengals' next opponent hasn't lost in a long time. The season is at a make-or-break point. Chad Johnson is running his mouth to build excitement.
Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
One year ago, the upstart Bengals forged an identity and jump-started their season by knocking off the 9-0 Chiefs at Paul Brown Stadium, backing up Johnson's guarantee of a win.
They're looking to do it again today.
The Pittsburgh Steelers (8-1) are on an equally impressive roll, winning seven in a row, their longest streak in three years, with rookie Ben Roethlisberger running the show. With the kid quarterback from nearby Miami (Ohio), a bruising running game led by an old standby, and a blitz-crazy defense orchestrated by former Bengals coach Dick LeBeau, the Steelers have emphatically emerged as the league's front-runner.
Previously unbeaten New England and Philadelphia tried to slow them down, but got beat handily at Heinz Field. The Browns failed miserably last week in Cleveland.
Deja vu?
Now, it's up to the Bengals (4-5), who are pretending it's last year all over again.
"Kansas City was on top of the world and everybody was talking Super Bowl," quarterback Carson Palmer said. "And the same is being said for Pittsburgh right now. It is a similar situation.
"We obviously handled ourselves in a way to be successful in that situation last year, so we're looking to do the same thing."
The parallels abound.
The Bengals' 24-19 win over the Chiefs sparked a four-game winning streak that put them in playoff contention for the first time since 1990. This time, they've won two in a row and gotten back a familiar feeling.
Receiver Chad Johnson is even ruminating about a showy touchdown celebration, though stopping short of guaranteeing anything -- a concession to his old-school head coach.
"We're getting on a roll about the same time as we were last year," Johnson said. "The offense is clicking right now, running and passing. So it's going to be a good one."
Key for Bengals
Their best shot at pulling it out involves the other Johnson -- Rudi, who ran for 123 yards in Pittsburgh's 28-17 win on Oct. 3. No other running back has reached 100 yards against the Steelers. The last three teams -- Patriots, Eagles and Browns -- have run for 96 yards combined.
"Take nothing away from him -- he's a powerful running back -- but at the same time, we just missed a lot of tackles," linebacker Joey Porter said. "I think if we work on tackling, take care of the little things, we'll be all right."
Everything they do seems to turn out right these days.
"That's what happens when you get hot -- everybody plays great," Rudi Johnson said. "You look across the board, everybody on their team is playing great."
Things seemed ominous when Roethlisberger was forced to play because of Tommy Maddox's elbow injury in the second game. Instead, the first-round pick has won all seven starts, the best debut by an NFL rookie quarterback.
No one could have imagined it a year ago, when Roethlisberger was playing college football a half-hour north of Cincinnati. He's been sensational even though he's still adjusting to the NFL -- the home-and-away division games, for instance.
"I guess it's something you've got to get used to," he said. "You're going to play a lot of teams twice. I guess you can't surprise them anymore."
No surprises
There won't be many surprises today. The Steelers will rely on what they've done best the last few weeks by having Roethlisberger hand off the overwhelming majority of the time.
With their offensive line intact this season, the Steelers have re-emerged as one of the league's most dominant running teams. When Duce Staley hurt a hamstring, Jerome Bettis took over and tore off consecutive 100-yard games.
Bettis has 10 games of more than 100 yards against the Bengals, and needs only 6 yards to move ahead of Tony Dorsett for fifth place on the career list.
"Whenever you can pass a Hall of Fame guy like Tony Dorsett, from the Pittsburgh area, just to go by a guy like that is an honor," Bettis said. "Whenever they mention your name with a guy like him it's special."
What the Steelers have done this season is special, though they're loathe to even discuss it. They know things can change fast.
The Chiefs were in the same promising position when they arrived in Cincinnati one year ago, but went 4-3 down the stretch and lost their first playoff game to Indianapolis.
It doesn't take much to derail a season.
"Everybody's waiting for the letdown for us," receiver Hines Ward said.
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