11 a.m., Bengals by 1
Last meeting
Steelers won 19-14 at Cincinnati on Nov. 21, 2004
Who knew
A victory in this one would be the Steelers’ 10th straight on the road, which would establish a franchise record. They won nine in a row in 1974-75, when they won their first two Super Bowls.
Spotlight on: James Farrior
Steelers haven’t fared well when it comes to attracting big-name free agents, but they hit a home run by luring Farrior away from the New York Jets. He may have been the best linebacker in the league last season – 119 tackles, four interceptions, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries. As the left-inside linebacker in the Steelers’ 3-4 defense, Farrior is in charge of stuffing the run. But his high interception total tells you how good he is in coverage, too.
Etc.
Roy Rogers is from Cincy, Gene Kelly from Pittsburgh. OK, so it doesn’t have a darn thing to do with today’s game. Just thought you’d want to know. … Game features matchup of NFL’s two highest-rated QBs, Ben Roethlisberger and Carson Palmer. Big Ben has seven TD passes, no INTs. Palmer leads loop with 13 TD tosses. … Bengals plus-16 in turnovers, tops in the league. Giants are next-best at plus-10. … Cincy’s Chad Johnson having an all-pro season with league-best 39 catches for five TDs, tied for lead in AFC. … Stillers were last team to hold Palmer below a 100-plus passer rating (82.9 in last meeting). … Bengals’ D getting it done for a change, allowing 84 points through six games compared to 139 last season. … Cincy getting big lift from rookie LB Odell Thurman. Dude recorded second career INT last week and returned it for a TD. … Former CSU LB Joey Porter leads Steelers with 4.0 sacks.
Prediction: Steelers 19, Bengals 17
