Watching the Steelers stumble their way through the first half of their Monday night game in Denver had to add to Bengals' fans optimism about Cincinnati's prospects this Sunday in Pittsburgh.
Seeing Ben Roethlisberger rally his team from its reverie to make the Broncos look bad in the second half toward a 28-10 Pittsburgh win, was a cold slap of reality.
This is a money team, populated with money players, who play best when the chips are down. And they very seldom lose two in a row to a team in their division.
The win Cincinnati fashioned over the Steelers are Paul Brown Stadium September 27, was the 2nd in a run of four heart-stopping Bengals' wins.
As Teresa Varley of Steelers.com points out, "There was something missing in that game and the Bengals are well aware of that. Safety Troy Polamalu was out with a knee injury, but will be back in action this Sunday."
While Cincinnati will have Andre Caldwell who scored on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Carson Palmer with 14 seconds left to ice the Bengals 23-20 win, they will be without Chris Henry.
Maurice Purify has been promoted to take his roster spot but he's a rookie who's potential to contribute is somewhat limited. That is where Laveranues Coles comes in. The 10 year veteran has been making more plays with each succeeding game. His 6 catches for 72 yards led all Cincinnati receivers in last Sundays 17-7 conquest of the Ravens. His 3 touchdowns tie him with Caldwell for 2nd on the team in that category to Chad OchoCinco's 5.
If he approaches that kind of productivity Sunday, the Bengals would be in prime position to claim a historic season sweep of the AFC North.
