Steelers @ Bengals

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(AP) -- It's tough to find a specific area the Cincinnati Bengals can point to and reasonably say they're an elite football team.

 

They'll be happy to direct those questioning their credentials to the top of the AFC North standings.

 

A second straight division title is squarely in the Bengals' sights, but the Pittsburgh Steelers also control their fate in the North as they visit Paul Brown Stadium on Sunday for the first of two high-stakes December meetings with Cincinnati.

 

Baltimore has the far better point differential, Pittsburgh the top-five offense and Cleveland an early-November road rout of the Bengals to point to, but Cincinnati (8-3-1) is in control of the NFL's most competitive division over those 7-5 clubs.

 

The Bengals bounced back from that 24-3 loss to the Browns on Nov. 6 to sweep a three-game road swing. Even an under-the-weather Andy Dalton throwing three interceptions last Sunday against Tampa Bay - just as he did against Cleveland - wasn't enough to derail a 14-13 win that, while hardly pretty, was the North's only victory in Week 13.

 

"We've just got a little more breathing room," safety George Iloka said. "It always helps when we win a game and other teams lose. Guys were definitely happy about that."

 

Iloka is part of the Bengals' best unit, a secondary that allows 6.31 yards per pass - third-lowest in the league - and has surrendered an NFL-low 11 passing touchdowns. Overall, Cincinnati's defense ranks 21st, allowing 364.0 yards per game, while its 18th-ranked offense averages 343.6.

 

"Their secondary is playing as good as any secondary in the NFL right now," Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. "... (They have) a lot of different looks, double-barrel stuff (and) things that we've seen in the past. But we'll always anticipate something new."

 

Pittsburgh's offense (417.3 ypg) is third, but many of its 538 yards in last week's 35-32 home loss to New Orleans felt quite hollow. Down 19 in the fourth quarter after two Roethlisberger interceptions, the Steelers put together two 95-plus-yard scoring drives in the final minutes to account for the final margin.

 

Since his 12-touchdown barrage over a two-game stretch at Heinz Field, Roethlisberger - who banged his right wrist on a Saints defender in the first quarter - has four touchdowns, five picks and a 79.3 rating in Pittsburgh's past three.

 

"He hasn't been as accurate as he has been," coach Mike Tomlin said. "Some of it is due to some pressure created in the pocket. Some of it is due to game circumstance. Some we lacked cohesion in some instances. None of those things happen in a vacuum when you're talking about quarterback play. It's usually unit-play oriented. He can play better, we all can play better, and we're looking forward to doing it this week."

 

The Steelers' offense averages 26.7 points overall to rank eighth in the league, but the home-road disparity is stark. Pittsburgh is putting up 35.0 per game at Heinz Field and just 18.3 away from home, where Roethlisberger has thrown only six of his 26 TDs.

 

Second in the league with 31 passing plays of 25-plus yards, Roethlisberger has only hit nine of those big plays in six road games. Finding Antonio Brown, Markus Wheaton or Martavis Bryant downfield this week doesn't figure to be easy against a secondary that's allowed only 15 of those - tied for fourth.

 

"It takes 11 guys combined in those situations all the time, no matter what," Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said of his defense's penchant for taking away big plays. "It's whatever the coverage is, and making sure we're playing the coverage to the best of our abilities, and everybody in the right spots. The rush has to work with the coverage, and the coverage has to work with the rush."

 

Cincinnati has allowed just 3.06 yards per carry since Cleveland racked up 170 yards, but it will be tested by Le'Veon Bell, who's on pace to join Marshall Faulk and Steven Jackson as the only running backs with 1,200 rushing yards and 800 receiving.

 

Bell, second in the NFL in yards from scrimmage, is more concerned with the Steelers' chance to win out, which would give them their first division title since 2010.

 

"We've got to take care of business," Bell said. "We can't look forward to four or five weeks ahead."

 

That's a statement echoed by the Bengals, who have gone 4-1 in December in each of the past two years. Dalton was terrific in the cold weather last season, throwing 12 touchdowns with five picks and posting a 97.2 rating.

 

Dalton will certainly be looking for A.J. Green on Sunday, but he might want to spend time looking Mohamed Sanu's way. Pittsburgh kept Drew Brees from even targeting Jimmy Graham last week but was torched for 162 yards by second option Kenny Stills.

 

Sanu, who had a pair of 100-yard games when Green was hurt, has totaled 110 on 12 catches in the past four games.

 

Though Dalton has been sacked just 14 times - fewer than only Peyton Manning - he's been dealing with uncertainty at right tackle since Andre Smith went down with a season-ending injury. The Bengals this week signed NFLPA president Eric Winston, who started every game from 2007-13 but hasn't played in the league this season.

 

Pittsburgh's pass rush, already hardly fearsome with just 21 sacks, just lost perhaps its most consistent player. Brett Keisel was put on IR after tearing his triceps against the Saints, and in his place the Steelers signed veteran Clifton Geathers - brother of Bengals defensive end Robert.

 

Pittsburgh had won 11 of its last 12 visits to Cincinnati before the Bengals' 20-10 win in September 2013.

 

[RazorStar 4,025]

Bengals at home and it isn't primetime... I think they widen the gap this week.

 

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Domata Peko (elbow) is active for Sunday's Week 14 game against the Steelers.

Peko went down in Week 13 but was able to make a quick recovery.

There are no surprises in the Bengals inactives: LB Vontaze Burfict (knee), LB Chris Carter, DE Margus Hunt, OT Tanner Hawkinson, CB Chris Lewis-Harris, WR Dane Sanzenbacher and WR James Wright.

 

 

 

Steelers RB/KR Dri Archer is a healthy scratch for Sunday's Week 14 game at Cincinnati.

Archer, the third-round rookie, has just 14 touches from scrimmage all season. James Harrison (knee) is also out for the Steelers.

The rest of their inactives: CB B.W. Webb, QB Landry Jones, OT Marcus Gilbert, WR Justin Brown and DE Clifton Geathers.