AFC North showdowns

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

Meaningful games in December are nothing new in Pittsburgh, where playoff pushes are an annual event. Not so much in Cincinnati, where the conversation usually turns to the NFL draft after Thanksgiving.

It’s why normally reserved Bengals coach Marvin Lewis ditched the usual “one game at a time” mantra heading into today’s rematch with the Steelers, who held off Cincinnati 24-17 on the road three weeks ago.

The surprising Bengals (7-4) trail Baltimore and Pittsburgh (8-3) by a game in the AFC North with five weeks to go. A loss would effectively end Cincinnati’s bid for an unlikely division title. The way Lewis figures, no need to downplay the stakes.

“This is a big football game for us, no doubt about it,” he said. “If we want to have an opportunity to win the AFC North, this is an important game for us. We can’t fall another game behind at this point.”

Neither, in truth, can the Steelers.

Though Pittsburgh is tied with the Ravens, Baltimore holds the tiebreaker after sweeping the season series. Any misstep puts the Steelers’ hopes of a second straight division title and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs in serious jeopardy, and they know it.

“We felt like coming out of the [open week] we needed to go 6-0,” wide receiver Mike Wallace said. “We got one down, we still got five to go.”

The Steelers have won six of seven yet have a tendency to play to the level of their opponent. The team that beat the New England Patriots with relative ease the day before Halloween is the same one that struggled to put away reeling Kansas City 13-9 last week.

Pittsburgh isn’t apologizing for winning ugly, though quarterback Ben Roethlisberger insists the offense needs to become more consistent. Wallace dropped a pair of deep balls against the Chiefs that would have broken the game open while the running game continued to operate in sporadic bursts.

“It wasn’t our best, but guys understand what time of year it is,” Roethlisberger said. “I’d rather stand here and talk about an ugly win than a pretty loss.”

So would the Bengals, though their spirited play against the defending AFC champions two weeks ago even in defeat signaled their hot start was no fluke. Cincinnati rallied from a 14-0 deficit to tie the game at 17 before wilting in the final minutes.

The game served as a litmus test for rookie quarterback Andy Dalton’s growth, one he passed flawlessly for three quarters before a pair of late interceptions ended Cincinnati’s five-game winning streak.

“They try to get into your head a little bit and try to mess with you,” Dalton said.

That’s the way it tends to go for rookies facing Pittsburgh’s 3-4 defense. The Steelers are 13-1 against first-year quarterbacks under defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau, though Dalton appears to be a little further down the road than most 24-year-olds.

“I don’t know how the talk is, but he’s rookie of the year,” Roethlisberger said. “I think he’s that good of a quarterback.”