By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

There's an argument to be made that Pittsburgh is now the Bengals' most vital and interesting rivalry game.

The Battle of Ohio might have lost some luster from both ends. In Cincinnati and Cleveland, "Steelers Week" has appeared to take on greater meaning. Pittsburgh remains one of the NFL's marquee franchises.

Today's Bengals-Steelers game has additional storylines worth exploring.

The game is the first matching Steelers coach Bill

Cowher against Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, a former high school rival in suburban Pittsburgh and a former assistant.

Steelers linebacker Joey Porter will start three weeks after being shot outside a sports bar.

And though both defenses have played well in spots, the offenses are among the league's top 10 - Pittsburgh's seventh and the Bengals eighth. This one has the makings of a high-scoring, back-and-forth game.

QUARTERBACK

Both Jon Kitna and Tommy Maddox can throw interceptions in bunches. Each had 16 last season, and Kitna has four and Maddox three in two games.

They enter the game ranked Nos. 1 and 2 in the AFC in passing yards, Maddox with 596 and Kitna 567.

The QB who avoids the costly mistake at crunch time probably will get the victory today.

Edge: Steelers

RUNNING BACKS

So goes the offensive line for the Bengals, so goes the running game. Corey Dillon had a big game going at Oakland before his hyperextended right knee limited him in the second half. He had 84 yards.

The Steelers' offense and their running game are more out of whack than at any other time in recent memory. Both Amos Zereoue and Jerome Bettis have complained that coaches are not making the necessary commitment to get the run game into a rhythm.

Edge: Bengals

RECEIVERS/TIGHT END

Two of the league's top receiving tandems will be on the field today.

The Steelers' Hines Ward and Plaxico Burress have a combined 31 receptions for 468 yards and three touchdowns. Chad Johnson and Peter Warrick are 26-366-2.

The Bengals' Reggie Kelly has emerged as a top blocker, but their best pass catcher at TE is Matt Schobel. He is questionable (hamstring). Steelers TEs have just three catches and share in running game woes.

Edge: Steelers

OFFENSIVE LINE

The Bengals' offense looked out of sync in the opener because the offensive line played poorly. The line played well at Oakland, and the offense had 416 total yards. Center Rich Braham should ask for a raise. Tackles Willie Anderson and Levi Jones need to be sharp today.

The Steelers have their familiar offensive line intact, but Maddox has been sacked six times.

Edge: Bengals

DEFENSIVE LINE

Even though the Bengals' line has one sack, end Duane Clemons hit Oakland quarterback Rich Gannon twice last week and threw him off his game.

The Bengals are rushing their front four on most plays, leaving the linebackers in coverage and contributing to the overall improvement of the pass defense.

Pittsburgh's front three does its job well: keep offensive linemen off the big-play linebackers. But neither line has done well against the run.

Edge: Even

LINEBACKERS

Porter's return at right outside linebacker gives the Steelers another pass-rushing threat. The four linebackers are the heart of the defense but will be challenged by Dillon and Warrick.

With the line playing well in front of them, Bengals linebackers have been making their tackles. They must not allow the Steelers' run game to get back in gear.

Edge: Steelers

DEFENSIVE BACKS

Mark Roman has been playing like a second-round pick (he was) at free safety. He has been around the ball and a sure tackler.

Tory James is the best cornerback in Cincinnati since Ashley Ambrose in 1996, and the Bengals need another big game from James against Burress.

The Steelers' pass defense is improved from a year ago. But CBs Dewayne Washington and Chad Scott have five pass interference penalties.

Edge: Bengals

SPECIAL TEAMS

Neither unit has to be great, just good, and avoid giving up the big play. The Steelers gave up a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown last week.

The Bengals looked better in the kicking game last week but are still not crisp. Warrick has to know when to let a punt go, and Nick Harris can't kick any more line-drive punts that give the return man a lot of room to run.

Edge: Even

COACHING

Today is another test for Lewis and his remade Bengals roster. Can they string together consecutive good games against playoff-caliber teams?

The pressure is on Bengals offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski to call a good game and not be outdone by his buddy and respected counterpart, Mike Mularkey. Cowher remains one of the league's top motivators.

Edge: Steelers

On today's game

"They'll try to find one thing that's going to bother you and disrupt you, and once that happens, then you're going to see it a lot in the game."

Bengals quarterback Jon Kitna, on the Steelers defense

CURNUTTE'S PREDICTION: Steelers 31, Bengals 27

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