Dec 6, 2014 4 min read

PITTSBURGH – The Steelers have not won a playoff game since 2010.

The Cincinnati Bengals are 0-5 in the postseason during Marvin Lewis’ 12 seasons as head coach.

One of the two will get a victory in a game that has a playoff-type feel today when the Steelers take on the Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium.

With Cinicnnati (8-3-1) holding a 1 1/2-game lead over the Steelers, Ravens and Browns (each 7-5), in the AFC North, the winner of this game will move a step closer to reaching the postseason.

“We are excited about the head-to-head opportunity, where if we take care of business it will strengthen our positioning, not only within our division but in the big picture,” Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said.

The Bengals are treating the first of two meetings with the Steelers over the final four weeks of the season – they play again Dec. 28 at Heinz Field – in much the same way.

“It’s an important game,” said Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis, a McDonald native. “We’ve had to play almost playoff football over the past three weeks. We’ve taken that approach that the last half of the year was going to be that way.”

The Bengals won their past three games, all on the road, to regain their lead in what is the NFL’s most competitive division. But a loss to the Steelers could mean the AFC North race ends up a photo finish.

At least that’s what the Steelers are counting on.

“I’ve been here a long time, so it’s easy for me to know what this game means and what this part of the season means,” said Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. “We’ll keep an eye on the young guys and make sure they understand the importance of it as well.”

That might be needed for a team that struggled since winning three games in a row at home a month ago. Since then, the Steelers have gone 1-2 with Roethlisberger throwing four touchdown passes and five interceptions.

If the Steelers are going to return to the postseason for the first time since 2011, now is the time to turn things around, much as they did in 2005, when they won their final four games to finish 11-5 en route to winning the Super Bowl.

“We haven’t made a run yet, so we’ll see what happens,” said Roethlisberger. “We just have to come out and play good football.”

That could be tough against the Bengals, who have won 13 of 14 home games over the past two regular seasons.

To beat the Bengals, the Steelers not only need a big game out of Roethlisberger, they’ll need to continue to ride running back Le’Veon Bell.

Bell gained more than 200 total yards in each of the past two games and could become the first running back since Walter Payton in 1977 to do so in three consecutive games.

“I just want to get as many carries and touches as we need to win the game,” said Bell, who leads the AFC with 1,046 rushing yards.

The Bengals, with rookie Jeremy Hill and Giovanni Bernard, have a potent rushing attack of their own. Hill has 683 rushing yards. Bernard has 540.

“They’ve got two guys they can send at you,” said Steelers nose tackle Steve McLendon, who is expected to return after missing the past two games with a shoulder injury. “We’ve got to find a way to slow them down.”

The Steelers will need to slow that running game or they could be in for a long day. Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton has two big targets at wide recevier in A.J. Green and Mohammed Sanu.

“They mix the run and the play-action pass,” Tomlin said. “They are capable of changing the pace on you.”

The Steelers would like to change the pace of the AFC North. Cincinnati won the division last year and Pittsburgh would like to keep the Bengals from making it two in a row.

“We know the No. 1 way of getting to the playoffs is to win the division,” said Steelers defensive end Cameron Heyward. “That’s our goal.”

Pittsburgh activated linebacker Jarvis Jones and placed cornerback Cortez Allen (thumb) on season-ending injured reserve. … The Steelers are 10-4 against the Bengals under Tomlin, while Roethlisberger is 9-2 in Cincinnati. … Wide receiver Antonio Brown needs two receptions to move past Louis Lipps (358) and into fourth place on the Steelers’ all-time receptions list. Brown also needs four receptions to become the first player in team history with back-to-back 100-reception seasons.