TIME: 1 p.m. Sunday PLACE: Paul Brown Stadium (synthetic)
LOCAL RADIO: Dan Hoard (play-by-play) and Dave Lapham (analyst) on the "triple-cast" Cincinnati flagship stations of WLW-AM (700), WCKY-AM (ESPN 1530) and WEBN-FM (102.7) on the 41-station Bengals radio network.
NATIONAL RADIO: Sports USA Radio with Wayne Randazzo (play-by-play) and Mark Carrier (analyst).
TV: CBS broadcast crew of Ian Eagle (play-by-play), Dan Fouts (analyst), Evan Washburn (sideline) on Channel 12 in Cincinnati, Channel 7 in Dayton, Ohio, and Channel 27 in Lexington, KY
INJURIES
CIN:
DOUBTFUL: Starting WR A.J. Green (hamstring), rotational DL Wallace Gilberry (calf),
backup S Derron Smith (thigh), backup WR James Wright (knee), backup TE C.J. Uzomah (calf).
QUESTIONABLE:LS Clark Harris (groin) has been limited or out since missing his first game in 117 games as a Bengal on Nov. 27. But he went full go all week. This could be the fourth straight game they carry two long-snappers. Backup WR James Wright (knee) practiced full Thursday and Friday. Backup TE C.J. Uzomah (calf) and backup S Derron Smith went full for the first time in a few weeks
*GOOD TO GO: *Starting LE Carlos Dunlap (neck) went full Thursday and Friday; Starting LG Clint Boling (shoulder), yet to miss a game, went full Friday after being limited previously this week. Starting CB Adam Jones (ankle) went full Thursday and Friday after sitting out Wednesday
PIT:
OUT:Backup S Shamarko Thomas (concussiuon), Backup WR Darrius Heyward-Bey (foot)
GOOD TO GO: Starting RT Marcus Gilbert (ankle) went full Thursday and Friday after being limited Wednesday.
THE SERIES
The 8-5 Steelers lead the 5-7-1 Bengals, 59-35; Steelers lead, 29-19 in Cincinnati, 15-3 at PBS
NOTEWORTHY
»» Sunday's game marks the first time the Steelers come to PBS since the infamous Brawl in the Paul, otherwise known as the AFC Wild Card Game of Jan. 9, 2016. The Bengals had the ball and a 16-15 lead with 1:32 left, but a fumble and pair of 15-yard penalties led to an 18-16 loss.
»» Two of the franchise-high 94 games against the Steelers have come in the postseason. Both were at PBS 10 years apart in AFC Wild Card games, both won by the Steelers against a Bengals team that didn't have its starting quarterback.
»» For the third straight PBS game the Bengals won't have QB Andy Dalton or WR A.J. Green for the whole game. Dalton suffered a season-ending broken thumb against the Steelers in the regular-season before missing the play-off game.
»» The Bengals send three rookie WRs (Tyler Boyd, Cody Core, Alex Erickson) into a starting Steelers secondary with first-round cornerback Artie Burns and second-round safety Sean Davis.
»» Boyd played at Greater Pittsburgh's Clairton High School and the University of Pittsburgh. Steelers S Mike Mitchell played at Greater Cincinnati's Highlands High School in Fort Thomas, KY, and Ohio University
»» Bengals linebackers coach Jim Haslett was the Steelers defensive coordinator in the mid-1990s. Steelers inside linebackers coach Jerry Olsavsky was with the Bengals in the 1998 preseason.
»»Bengals K Randy Bullock arrived via waivers Tuesday nine days after providing 10 points in Pittsburgh's 24-14 victory over the Giants. The only other former Steeler with the Bengals is TE coach Jon Hayes, who scored a TD in the Steelers' 1994 win at Riverfront Stadium on a three-yard pass from Neil O'Donnell.
»» Name the three Steelers quarterbacks to start games in the 17-season history of PBS: you're right if you went Kordell Stewart, Tommy Maddox, and Ben Roethlisberger.
* *
NFL RANKINGS
CIN: 23rd in scoring, 9th in offense (8th rushing,11th passing); 11th in scoring defense, 20th in defense (25th d rushing, 12th passing); T-10th in turnover margin at plus-3.
PIT: 12th in scoring, 7th in offense (9th rushing, 8th passing); 9th in scoring defense, 11th in defense (4th in rushing, 21st passing), T-12th in turnover margin at plus-2.
COACHES
CIN: Marvin Lewis 117-108-3 in 14th season, 8-21 vs. Steelers
PIT: Mike Tomlin 105-62 in ninth season, 15-5 vs. Lewis and Bengals.
PHILIP RIVERS WEATHER UPDATE
The National Weather Service in Wilmington, Ohio, is calling for a kick-off temperature in the 25-degree range and remaining there for the rest of the game with winds out of the west and northwest at about 10-15 miles per hour. Chance of a passing flurry.
NUMBERS GAME
.615 - Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis' regular-season PBS winning percentage
.154 - Lewis' winning percentage vs. Steelers at PBS
55 - Bengals QB Andy Dalton's career victories
53 - Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger's career road victories
11-2 - Roethlisberger's record at PBS
6-14 - Career record of Bruce Gradkowski, who backed up both Dalton and Roethlisberger
14 - Dalton's wins vs. Baltimore and Cleveland
3 - Dalton's wins vs. Pittsburgh
7 - Bengals WR A.J. Green's career TDs vs. Pittsburgh in 12 games
4 - Steelers WR Antonio Brown's TDs vs. Bengals in 12 games
3 - Bengals WR Chad Johnson's career TDs vs. Steelers in 20 games
1,046 - Green's career yards vs. Steelers
*914 - Brown's career yards vs. Bengals *
1,198 - Johnson's career yards vs. Steelers
13 - 100-yard rushing games for Steelers RB Le'Veon Bell in his four seasons
16 - 100-yard rushing games for Bengals in six season of Green-Dalton Era
169 - NFL game for Bengals NT Domata Peko on Sunday, tying him for 10th on the Bengals all-time list with punter Lee Johnson
166 - NFL game for Bengals LT Andrew Whitworth on Sunday, tying him with former RT Joe Walter for 12th on the Bengals all-time list
186 - NFL game for Steelers OLB James Harrison on Sunday
