CINCINNATI -- They played nice all week long.
The Bengals and Steelers went out of their way to curb their comments about how they really feel about each other.
Umm, let's talk about something else. Treat it like just any other game. Forget that rivalry stuff.
"All that stuff's over when you get into the playoffs," Bengals left tackle Andrew Whitworth said. "It really doesn't matter who it is or what division they're from."
Few people are buying it.
The Ohio River rivals have such a deep dislike for each other that they traded nasty words and tweets before they met at Paul Brown Stadium on Dec. 13, and then they scuffled on the field during pregame warmups. There were so many personal fouls during the game that the league handed out more than $100,000 in fines.
Four weeks later, the only difference is the stakes are higher.
The Bengals (12-4) are putting their 25-year streak of playoff futility on the line against the Steelers (10-6) tonight, trying to do a better job of keeping their cool. They got caught up in the emotion and suffered a meltdown four weeks ago, a 33-20 defeat that basically cost them a playoff bye and their starting quarterback.
Andy Dalton was leading the league in passer rating when he broke his thumb while making a tackle during an interception return. AJ McCarron took over and threw a pair of interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown.
And the trash talking went on endlessly, getting so out of hand that Bengals Coach Marvin Lewis and Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin talked about it by phone the next day.
Television monitors in the Bengals locker room this week had the usual schedule of activities, plus a quote from franchise founder Paul Brown: "The key to winning is poise under stress."
Translation: Cool it.
And that goes for the Steelers, too. Right tackle Marcus Gilbert tweeted -- and later deleted -- after the victory four weeks ago: "All I want for Christmas is the Bengals. Would love to see them in the playoffs where they choke. The talking is done between the lines."
They're saving it for today.
"We left that behind us," Gilbert said. "I know those guys, they're not trying to get suspended or lose any money out of their pockets the third go-round. All that stuff that happened weeks back is out of the window. We're trying to get this win as badly as they are."
Cincinnati hasn't won a playoff game since the 1990 season, the sixth-longest streak of postseason futility in NFL history. Coach Marvin Lewis is 0-6, tied with Jim Mora for most consecutive playoff losses to start a career.
The Steelers and Bengals have met only once in the playoffs, and that was 10 years ago when Carson Palmer got his knee torn up on his first pass and Pittsburgh won 31-17. The Steelers are 14-3 all-time at Paul Brown Stadium, which opened in 2000.
McCarron hasn't thrown an interception in his three starts in Dalton's place, leading the Bengals to a 2-1 mark. He won two national championships at Alabama and thinks his experience in big games should help today.
History is against him: No quarterback with so little NFL starting experience has won a playoff game since Gifford Nielsen led the Houston Oilers over the San Diego Chargers in the 1979 season.
A year ago, the Steelers entered the playoffs without their top running back. This season, it's even worse, as both Le'Veon Bell and DeAngelo Williams (Wynne) are out. That leaves unproven Fitzgerald Toussaint and well-traveled Jordan Todman as the top options against one of the NFL's best run defenses. Toussaint and Todman combined for 64 yards in limited action this season.
Pittsburgh signed Ben Tate off the street last year and gave him a crash-course for a wild-card game against Baltimore. Tate managed 19 yards on five carries, with a fumble mixed in.
"I think we've got guys that have stepped up all year and don't see why this should be any different, whether it's Todman, Fitz, Will Johnson," Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. "Whoever it is at running back, the good thing is they've been here all year. They know the system. They know what to do and we expect them to step up and be up to speed."
Sports on 01/09/2016