Bengals-Steelers preview: 15 things to know about Week 17's SNF game

[Lady Steel]

For the first time in four years, the Dallas Cowboys won't lose to a division rival in a do-or-die Sunday Night Football game to wrap up the NFL regular season. That's because after three consecutive de facto NFC East championship games were featured in the prime-time Week 17 flex slot in 2011, 2012 and 2013, the AFC North is getting its chance to close out the season with what is basically a division championship game this Sunday evening.

The difference this time is that both teams taking part -- the 10-4-1 Cincinnati Bengals and the 10-5 Pittsburgh Steelers -- have already clinched playoff berths. So neither team is trying to avoid elimination, but the Bengals are still in contention for a first-round bye and both teams would of course prefer home-field advantage to open the postseason.

The Bengals are looking to repeat as division champs for the first time in 32 years, while the Steelers are looking to avoid their first four-year division-title drought in 23 years. And it appears it's a matchup of two teams “peaking at the right time,” because Cincinnati has won five of its last six games and Pittsburgh is riding a three-game winning streak.

Let's elaborate while breaking down the matchup in both serious and non-serious fashion. Fifteen things to know:


http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-...k-17s-snf-game

[stillers4me]

[polamalubeast]

This is not the case

If the Bengals would have lost against the Broncos, it would have been the case