The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals will clash in the NFL Playoffs 2016 on Saturday night. This Wild Card Round 2016 game is set to be a dramatic and tense affair, but only one team can progress. The game has a scheduled start time of 8.15 p.m. ET and takes place from Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. The game can be watched on TV on the CBS network or online through live stream via the link below.
This AFC Wild Card 2016 clash will see the Bengals enter the game with a backup quarterback, hoping that AJ McCarron can be the game winner for them in what is sure to be a high-pressured game.
The Bengals won this season's AFC North division with a 12-4 record, but were unable to snap up the first round bye in the final weeks. That means that they have to go straight back into action this week with no extra time to try and get first choice quarterback Andy Dalton back from injury.
Dalton of course suffering a broken thumb recently and had a good chance to make the next round if the Bengals could have clinched a top 2 seed spot in the AFC, but their failure to do that opens up the opportunity for AJ McCarron to be the hero in Cincinnati.
Dalton has said ahead of the game: "This team's built for this kind of stuff. AJ's going to do a good job when things happen."
AJ McCarron will try to get the Bengals a win to end what is one of the longest stints in the NFL without a postseason win for Cincinnati. The Bengals have lost seven straight postseason games and have not won in the Playoffs for a quarter of a century - which is the sixth longest of any franchise in the NFL.
Only one team in the history of the NFL has lost four straight opening round games, and the Bengals will want to avoid becoming part of such history by clinching a victory over the Steelers today.
The Steelers have 48 sacks this season, and trailed only the Denver Broncos and the New England Patriots in that department. They also posted 17 interceptions, which tied them in 6th place in the NFL in that category. However, they also gave up 363.1 yards on average, and that ranked them a lowly 21st in the league, and will be a reason for concern entering the Playoffs where the league's best offenses will be looking to take advantage.
Safety Will Allen has said ahead of tonight's game: "A lot of people talk about the yards we give up in the secondary, but usually when that happens we're getting great red zone stops, we're getting turnovers, we're causing havoc up front with the defensive line, making teams one dimensional."
The Steelers meanwhile won four of their last five games to get into the Playoffs and will enter the postseason in confident mood. However, Ben Roethlisberger also threw six interceptions in his final three games, and they will want to see him stamp those out, as the Bengals will no doubt look to take advantage of any such lapses in today's winner takes all game.
Today's big NFL Playoffs 2016 game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals has a scheduled start time of 8.15 p.m. ET and can be watched on TV on the CBS network or online through live stream by clicking here.
