Bengals Playing Role of Underdog

They’re division champions, playing on their home field against the team they displaced atop the AFC North.

And, the Cincinnati Bengals are expected to lose. How can this be?

Simple. It has a lot to do with their late-season slide, their playoff inexperience and their first-round opponent. Unlike the Bengals, the Pittsburgh Steelers (11-5) know how to win games like the one they’ll play today at Paul Brown Stadium.

The explanation is logical, but hardly soothing. The Bengals have waited 15 years for a playoff game, and it’s a little grating that they aren’t even the top name on the marquee now that it’s here.

“You hear the naysayers, you hear the negativity,” quarterback Carson Palmer said. “You hear people talking about the line of the game.

“Whoever it was going to be, it was going to be a big game. But Pittsburgh with the rivalry and because they’re the favorite, it just adds a little bit to the fire.”

It’s not just the prognosticators and the oddsmakers. A lot of Bengal fans dread the thought of a third and decisive game against the Steelers, who came to town Oct. 23 and won, 27-13.

The Bengals won the rematch in Pittsburgh on Dec. 4, a 38-31 victory that all but clinched the division title.

But it’s that earlier game that fans around these parts remember. They were openly pulling for the Bengals to have a first-round game against Jacksonville.

“A lot of it was our fans saying it,” offensive tackle Willie Anderson said. “My thing to our fans is: Don’t get scared now, because we need our fans.”

At the end of his radio show on Thursday night, receiver Chad Johnson -- who has declined interviews all week -- told fans he understands a lot of them are worried about playing Pittsburgh again. He assured them everything would be fine.

Anderson went a step further, suggesting it’s better for the Bengals if they’re not expected to win.

“I’m glad we’re not,” he said. “We shouldn’t be. Pittsburgh is an experienced team, coming off a 15-1 season [last year], they’ve been in playoffs year-in and year-out.

“We shouldn’t be favored. We should be in a position where we have to come out and fight our way and prove ourselves to everyone.”

Although they split their season series, the teams are on vastly different planes when it comes to the playoffs. Forty of the Steelers have been to the playoffs with Pittsburgh; only 13 of the Bengals have been in the postseason with other teams.

And, the Steelers have experience at the position where it most matters. Ben Roethlisberger led Pittsburgh to the AFC title game as a rookie last season. Palmer is making his first appearance in a game that will start to define his career.

“All you hear is Tom Brady is 9-0 as a postseason quarterback, and you hear about [Dan] Marino and that Peyton [Manning] hasn’t gotten to the big one. That’s part of your legacy,” Palmer said. “When people talk about quarterbacks of the past, they talk about what happened in the playoffs. Did they get to the Super Bowl? Did they win the Super Bowl?

“That’s part of your legacy, and my legacy starts this weekend. I understand how big of a game this is.”

Roethlisberger learned last year how the pressure mounts once the playoffs begin. He forced throws and three of his passes were intercepted during a 41-27 loss to New England in the conference title game.

Experience in these games seems to matter.

“I think it matters for me,” Roethlisberger said. “I think I’ll be better this year than I was last year. I’d like to hope.”

Momentum usually matters, too, and the Steelers have much more of it. Following that loss to the Bengals, they won their last four games to secure the final AFC wild card berth. The Bengals lost their last two games -- to Buffalo and Kansas City -- after clinching the division title.

“No question, there’s something for momentum week to week,” coach Marvin Lewis said. “Not many teams have gone to the Super Bowl without that.”

*

BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX

CAROLINA (11-5) AT N.Y. GIANTS (11-5)

Today, 10 a.m., Channel 11

THE OUTLOOK

* Panther update: Coach John Fox, a former Giant defensive coordinator, was unusually sentimental this week when he talked about playing his former team. He praised and thanked late owners Wellington Mara and Bob Tisch, both of whom died this season. But all that doesn’t mean Fox doesn’t want to beat the pants off the Giants. The Panthers have the edge when it comes to an experienced starting quarterback. Jake Delhomme is two years removed from leading Carolina to the Super Bowl. During his red-hot playoff run in 2003, he had a rating of 106.1 in four games, with six touchdowns and one interception.

* Giant update: Tiki Barber is at the top of his game. The Pro Bowl running back is coming off a 203-yard performance at Oakland in a division-clinching win for the Giants. It was his third 200-yard game of the season, a feat only Earl Campbell and O.J. Simpson had accomplished in the modern era. New York certainly knows how to score points, finishing with 422, the second-highest total in franchise history. A key will be the play of quarterback Eli Manning, who threw 24 touchdown passes this season, the most by a Giant quarterback since Fran Tarkenton threw 29 in 1967.

* Key stat: Carolina won six of its last seven road games, with the only loss coming in Week 11 at Chicago.

* The scoop: The Panthers and Giants have similar types of ball-control offenses. The difference-maker in this game could be which defensive line has the best game. New York’s is led by Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora, whereas Carolina’s up-front stars are Mike Rucker and Julius Peppers. New York’s defensive line is third in the league with 34 1/2 sacks, followed by Carolina’s 33.

* The line: New York by 2 1/2 .

TEAM LEADERS

CAROLINA

*--* PASSING ATT COMP YDS TD Jake Delhomme 435 262 3,421 24 RUSHING CAR YDS AVG TD DeShaun Foster 205 879 4.3 2 Stephen Davis 180 549 3.1 12 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Steve Smith 103 1,563 15.2 12 Ricky Proehl 25 441 17.6 4

*--*

NEW YORK GIANTS

*--* PASSING ATT COMP YDS TD Eli Manning 557 294 3,762 24 RUSHING CAR YDS AVG TD Tiki Barber 357 1,860 5.2 9 Derrick Ward 35 123 3.5 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Plaxico Burress 76 1,214 16.0 7 Jeremy Shockey 65 891 13.7 7

*--*

THE MATCHUP

* Series record: Panthers lead, 2-0.

* Last meeting: Panthers 37, Giants 24, Dec. 28, 2003 at East Rutherford, N.J.

* Last week: Panthers beat Falcons, 44-11. Giants beat Raiders, 30-21.

* Panthers Off.: Overall (22), rush (19), pass (17)

* Panthers Def.: Overall (3), rush (4), pass (9)

* Giants Off.: Overall (4), rush (6), pass (11)

* Giants Def.: Overall (24), rush (12), pass (27)

*

BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX

PITTSBURGH (11-5) AT CINCINNATI (11-5)

Today, 1:30 p.m., Channel 2

THE OUTLOOK

* Steeler update: It’s time for Ben Roethlisberger to redeem himself in the playoffs, where as a rookie last season his shaky performance took a bit of the luster off his spectacular regular season. In two postseason games, five of his passes were intercepted, and two of those were run back for touchdowns. He was steady in his last game at Cincinnati, though, and the Steeler running game was extremely effective. Pittsburgh is 13-3 on the road during the past two seasons and 6-0 in the playoffs against division rivals -- even though the Steelers have never faced the Bengals in the postseason.

* Bengal update: The Bengals, who have reached the postseason for the first time since the 1990 season, aren’t exactly roaring into the playoffs, having finished the regular season with consecutive losses. But they used their reserves for most of those games, and Coach Marvin Lewis says they’re now ready to get back to basics. Carson Palmer is coming off a Pro Bowl season in which he threw 32 touchdown passes, a team record and the most in the NFL this season. In what figures to be a close game against the Steelers, the Bengals are happy to have Pro Bowl kicker Shayne Graham, who kicked a franchise-record 14 consecutive field goals.

* Key stat: Pittsburgh has won its first game in each of its past seven playoff appearances. But the Steelers have lost four consecutive postseason road games.

* The scoop: The Steelers and Bengals split their season series with each team winning on the road. The key in their first playoff game against each other will be which team does a better job of controlling the clock. Look for the Steelers to take advantage of Cincinnati’s mediocre run defense.

* The line: Pittsburgh by 3.

TEAM STATISTICS

PITTSBURGH

*--* PASSING ATT COMP YDS TD Ben Roethlisberger 268 168 2,385 17 RUSHING CAR YDS AVG TD Willie Parker 255 1,202 4.7 4 Jerome Bettis 110 368 3.3 9 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Hines Ward 69 975 14.1 11 Antwaan Randle El 35 558 15.9 1

*--*

CINCINNATI

*--* PASSING ATT COMP YDS TD Carson Palmer 509 345 3,836 32 RUSHING CAR YDS AVG TD Rudi Johnson 337 1,458 4.3 12 Chris Perry 61 279 4.6 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Chad Johnson 97 1,432 14.8 9 T.J. Houshmandzadeh 78 956 12.3 7

*--*

THE MATCHUP

* Series record: Steelers lead, 42-29.

* Last meeting: Bengals 38, Steelers 31, Dec. 4, 2005 at Pittsburgh.

* Last week: Steelers beat Lions, 35-21. Bengals lost to Chiefs, 37-3.

* Steelers Off.: Overall (15t), rush (5), pass (24).

* Steelers Def.: Overall (4), rush (3), pass (16).

* Bengals Off.: Overall (6), rush (11), pass (5).

* Bengals Def.: Overall (28), rush (20), pass (26).

-- SAM FARMER