***SWAMPY WILDCARD WEEKEND ROUND 2 - PITT @ CIN***

***PITTSBURGH STEELERS @ CINCINATTI BENGALS***

Good chance that this is the best game of the weekend right here! The rivalry between these two is fueled with pure hatred and what better than that for a Saturday Night WildCard playoff game?! The last time these two teams met is when Bengals QB Andy Dalton actually got injured and obviously when backup AJ McCarron took the reins. McCarron is no ordinary backup QB however, this guy is a proven winner and full of confidence. That being said I don't think the spotlight of tonight's game will be too big for him. He has played well thus far, and nearly beat the Broncos on the road in a must win game for Denver. While Pittsburgh is extremely dangerous offensively, their defense can be vulnerable in the secondary and tonight I like McCarron to really take a step forward and have success through the air with weapons like AJ Green and Tyler Eifert. Speaking of the Tight End Eifert, this kid is like a baby Rob Gronkowski, I know that is very high praise but what a weapon he can be when in the game and tonight I think McCarron will rely on him to take over and even help open up other targets by demanding attention from the Steelers secondary leaving a lot of one on one matchups with speedy WRs and RB Gio Bernard out of the backfield. The Bengals defense surely have their work cut out for them as does anybody trying to stop Big Ben Rothlisberger and his WR core led by a top WR in the NFL, Antonio Brown. However the Bengals defense is an elite unit and will undoubteldy be on their A-game tonight at home and starving to get over the dreaded hump with the first playoff win since 1991! The Cats are looking to break the ice, and I wouldn't be the least bit suprised if it is backup QB AJ McCarron who ends up doing it with starter QB Andy Dalton who has failed to do it a couple of times, on the sideline with an injury. The Steelers have had to overcome a ton of adversity this season with key injuries and suspensions and now have lost their backup RB DeAngelo Williams who has been HUGE for them in RB LeVeon Bell's absence this season. This is a big time hit to the PItt run game and while you can NEVER count out Big Ben and those WRs, I feel like the Cincy defense will feed off that home crowd energy and get the job done tonight to finally advance! BENGALS+2.5