[Tomcat68]

A win in the NFL is just that. The competition level is so close. Kitna may be the best backup in the NFL. There are several teams throughout the league where he would be competing for a starting role.

Also, Pittsburgh had already beaten Palmer and the Bengals once earlier this season when the Bengals were on a roll winning 5 of their first 6 (the one loss being by 3 to Jacksonville). So, it's not like the Bengals had the Steelers number.

The Bengals win over the Steelers came at a very opportune time. The Steelers had lost 2 straight for the only time all season. So, it was an easy win for a good Bengals team against a team on the ropes.

The Bengals were unfortunate to limp into the playoffs with 2 consecutive losses while the Steelers were luckily on a 4 game winning streak. So, give credit where it's due, Pittsburgh had been playing good football as of late and the Bengals hadn't been playing very well. Momentum is very important in the NFL.

If anything, the Bengals and fans need to think about how their defense let them down and forget about Palmer.

In the first meeting: 27-13 Pittsburgh win @ Cincy
Big Ben was 9-14 for 93 yards with 2 TDs and 1 INT


In the second meeting: 38-31 Cincy win @ Pitt
Big Ben was 29-41 for 386 yards with 3 TDs but 3 INTs


In the third meeting: 31-17 Pitt win @ Cincy
Big Ben was 14-19 for 208 yards with 3 TDs but 0 INTs


The Bengals have relied on their ball hawking defense to force turnovers all season. There weren't able to that very often in their losses to Pittsburgh. In their win, they were. The defense is more to blame than the loss of Palmer. Also, don't forget the trick play that completely fooled the defense for an easy TD as well.

I'm not even a Steelers fan, but to think they're NOT one of the very elite teams in the league is a mistake. Just check out the losses this season.

Lost to New England (2 time defending SB champs (10-6)) 23-20 on a last second field goal

Lost to Jacksonville ((12-4) 2 losses to Indy) 23-17 in OT without Big Ben playing when Maddox throws an interception that is returning for a TD

Lost to Baltimore (Rivalry and just a bad loss)16-13 in OT without Big Ben playing

Lost to a very good Cincy (11-5 division champs) team 38-31

That's 4 losses (2 in OT without Big Ben playing) by a combined 19 points.

The other loss was a 7-26 loss to Indy (14-2) @ Indy during Ben's first game back after missing 3 straight.