PLAYER NOTES
–S Sean Davis injured his quad against the Saints. He did not practice Wednesday.
–LB Vince Williams, who injured his toe against the Saints, did not practice Wednesday.
–RB James Conner, who has missed the past three games with a high ankle sprain, went through a full practice. It was the first time he was listed as a full practice participant since injuring the ankle Dec. 2 against the Chargers.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: WR JuJu Smith-Schuster was crushed when he fumbled deep in New Orleans territory late in the game when the Steelers had a chance to tie or win the game against the Saints. But that turnover is one of the few mistakes Smith-Schuster has made this season. He has developed into one of the NFL’s best receivers. He is fourth in the NFL in receiving yards (1,389) and became the third player in franchise history to reach 100 receptions in a season. He joined Antonio Brown and Hines Ward as the only other Steelers to reach the 100-catch mark in a single season.
GAME PLAN: A few weeks ago, the Steelers made the mistake of not running against the Raiders, one of the league’s worst run defenses. They’d be wise not to make the same mistake against the Bengals, a team that surrendered 112 yards on the ground to the Steelers when these two teams played in October. The Bengals are 29th in the league against the run and give up 142 yards per game on the ground. That doesn’t mean the Steelers can’t pass with success against the Bengals. They did in the first game when Ben Roethlisberger threw for 368 yards. But they can control the game by running and will aim to do that again in the rematch especially with a defense that has been unable to hold leads the past few weeks.
The Steelers defense has to contain mobile quarterback Jeff Driskel, who has the ability to scramble and extend plays with his athleticism. This is the first time they will play against Driskel after competing for years against Andy Dalton, who is on injured reserve. Driskel won’t have his best receiver in this game. A.J. Green also is on injured reserve, so the Steelers can’t allow him to get out of the pocket. Head coach Mike Tomlin is worried about the unknown with so many new Bengals players playing more prominent roles in the offense. In previous meetings against the Bengals the Steelers knew they had to account for Green. But without Green, the Bengals are much less predictable in certain situations.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH:
–Steelers WR Antonio Brown vs. Bengals CB William Jackson. Brown had five catches for 105 yards in the first game of the season against the Bengals, including a 31-yard touchdown with 10 seconds remaining that gave the Steelers a 28-21 victory. Jackson was not in coverage on the final play of the game. The Steelers moved Brown into the slot to get him away from Jackson, who did a nice job of limiting Brown’s effectiveness throughout most of that game. Watch for the Steelers to move Brown around again to get away from Jackson, one of the top young corners in the AFC.
–Steelers OLB T.J. Watt vs. Bengals T Bobby Hart. Watt leads the Steelers with 12 sacks and four forced fumbles. He’ll be going against Hart, who has struggled in pass protection this season. Watt has played some of his best football at the end of the season. He has five sacks in the past seven games, including sacks of Tom Brady and Drew Brees in the past two contests.
