Pounces will be back at Center this week. They moved him because Legursky can fill in at C but not at G where he just gets blown up or pushed into the QB every play.
Good luck to the rest of the north fans. The Ravens are done.
So the Bengals are in a much better position than they were yesterday. Looks like nobody’s really interested in winning this division.
Apparently not the Steelers.
Gaaaaaahhh!
I am certain the Bengals are interested. They are on the cusp of being a good team. They haven’t quite learned how to close out games all the way yet. I think next Sunday’s game will be epic.
While today was a heartbreaking loss, was the game essentially meaningless. If we win our last 2 games, we’re still in the playoffs, correct?
That’s correct. They could still win the division in fact, not likely but they could.
Next week will be a good one!
Pittsburgh cannot win the division.
If Pittsburgh goes 2-0 and Baltimore goes 0-2:
- Head-to-head: tie
- Division record: tie
- Common games (AFC North, AFC West, NFC East): tie each team would be 8-6 against those common opponents.
- Conference games: Baltimore 8-4, Pittsburgh 6-6
Baltimore would win based on the better conference record. Cincinnati tying both clubs can’t complicate things because they lose to Baltimore via division record and Pittsburgh via head-to-head.
Pittsburgh wins the division in a three-way tie.
I see now. They would give it to Pittsburgh based on their 3-1 record vs. Bal/Cin. I thought Cincinnati wouldn’t be a factor since they held no primary tie-breaking advantage over either club. I thought the 3-team tiebreaker only applied in an A>B>C>A scenario.
C’mon with these implausible scenarios! We all know the Bengals are going to win out and take the division!
Which actually would be a blessing, because as a wild card, they’d likely be playing New England or Denver on the road as opposed to hosting Indy at home.
Correct. Check out the three-way tie in a division procedure. Step #1 is head to head results.
The game this week is now essentially an elimination game, thanks to Antonio Brown having one of the worst quarters any player has ever had. First, the fumble. All he had to do was hold onto the ball and the game was all but over. But nooooo, Dallas scores on his buffoonery. Then he stands way too far back for the later punt, so rather than getting the ball on the 50 with an excellent shot at a game winner they get it on the 20. Then, to make matters worse, he runs out of bounds on 3rd down short of a first, giving Dallas a shot to win. Had he not become a drooling moron the overtime never happens. But it did, so now it’s down to this. Terrific.
If Pittsburgh wins this weekend, the Browns can eliminate them on a Steelers loss and Bengals win. If the Steelers lose this weekend they’re probably finished.
Cincy should have beaten Dallas too, but for a number of dropped TD passes and INT’s…as well as stupidly burning all of their second half timeouts early, having 10 minutes left in the game with a nine point lead and not running the ball EVEN ONCE…despite the fact that BGE had been gashing the Cowpokes for almost 7 yards a carry the entire game. I still can’t understand why the coaching staff allowed that to happen.
Anyway, yeah, it’s put up or shut up time for both teams. I have to be honest: none of the three teams looks all that great. Not being a homer here but I think Cincinnati looks the best out of all three of them in terms of how they are playing right now, as well as being by far the healthiest team of the three.
But it’s December, it’s Pittsburgh and shit happens. If the Bengals want to consider themselves as one of the better teams in the NFL, then it’s time to stop being shrinking violets on the big stage and take down a decent team.
I thought too until I saw it explained in a blog. Life’s too short to study the tiebreak rules ahead of time! 
Sadly I think this team is limited by the defensive line. We already have two first-round picks underperforming, maybe free agency is the route to go this year. Not that the close losses are on the defense but it’s noticeably affecting the LBs and DBs. Hopefully the O-line will look better when Adams comes back; the running game is an embarrassment (again).
If the Cincinnati defensive front cannot generate pressure on/harass/sack Ben repeatedly in this game the Bengals will not win. Ben for all his raping has the magical ability to shed would-be tacklers and lumber around just enough to keep plays alive.
He’s good but I hate that guy! Such a meathead.
Yeah, I think you nailed it!
I see an early line of Pittsburgh by 4 (same line the Pats had for SF).
This game should be epic. The media is talking it up as the game of the week. I hope the Bengalis show up. With the injuries the Stealers have in the secondary, along with Troy not really being his old self anymore, if AJ Green doesn’t play with a chip on his shoulder and have a huge day, I will be sorely disappointed.