CINCINNATI -- There's still about three months until the start of the regular season.
Still, it isn't too early to start previewing the Cincinnati Bengals' year by looking at the past and seeing how they fared against the teams they will be facing. Whether they last saw their upcoming opponents one year ago or four, and whether they faced them in the regular season or in the playoffs, there could be something to learn from those meetings.
We began with the first team on the Bengals' 2015 schedule, the Oakland Raiders. Next came the San Diego Chargers. Next came Andy Dalton dive aided Bengals last time out vs. Ravens" href="http://espn.com/blog/cincinnati-bengals/post/_/id/17655/bengals-ravens-nfl-schedule-andy-dalton-penalty-dive-aids-last-time-out" target="_blank">the Baltimore Ravens. Next came the Kansas City Chiefs. Next came the Seattle Seahawks. Next came the Buffalo Bills. Now, we continue with team No. 7, the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In their most recent outing against the Steelers, an untimely turnover and a well-placed pass from Ben Roethlisberger doomed the Bengals in one of their most important games last season:
PITTSBURGH STEELERS
Date of 2015 meetings: Nov. 1, at Pittsburgh; Dec. 13, in Cincinnati
Steelers' 2014 record: 11-5
All-time series: Steelers lead 56-34
Last time Bengals faced Steelers: Pittsburgh won, 27-17, on Dec. 28, 2014
How the game was won: It must be pointed out that this was no ordinary regular-season game. When the Bengals and Steelers last met, the AFC North crown was on the line in a winner-take-all season finale. It was the de facto division championship game. With playoff seedings at stake, it was clear both teams approached the contest with the requisite seriousness.
Down by three late in the fourth quarter, the Bengals were in pretty good position to eke out a stunning road win. As the clock ticked inside the final four minutes, quarterback Andy Dalton found receiver A.J. Green across the middle on a 17-yard pickup. After the catch, though, Green was trying to gain even more yards. After taking a step with the ball in hand, he had it stripped by Steelers defensive back Antwon Blake, who subsequently fell on the fumble. A split second after Green lost his grip on the football, Steelers safety Mike Mitchell lowered a hard helmet-to-helmet hit that left Green with a concussion and ran him from the game; it also caused him to miss the Bengals' wild-card round playoff game the next week.
Mitchell wasn't penalized for the contact. On its ensuing possession, Pittsburgh extended the game to its final 10-point margin when Roethlisberger put a well-placed pass into the hands of receiver Antonio Brown. In the same motion as his reception, Brown sprinted into the end zone to cap a 63-yard touchdown. Covered perfectly by cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick, Brown pulled past the defender at the moment Roethlisberger threw him a front-shoulder pass. It was hard to fault Kirkpatrick, though. He smartly anticipated a back-shoulder throw, but Roethlisberger and Brown were in sync for something completely different.
This year's key story line: Perhaps the most intriguing story line coming out of last year's finale concerns Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell and Bengals safety Reggie Nelson. It was at the end of a third-quarter reception that Nelson delivered a hard hit to Bell's right knee that effectively ended his season. After the game, Nelson and Steelers coach Mike Tomlin were seen in a brief verbal altercation. Both denied at the time that it had anything to do with Bell's injury. As if this rivalry needed anything else to fuel it, the Bell-Nelson-Tomlin drama could give this year's two meetings a little added edge.