Bengals-Steelers rivalry

The Bengals-Steelers rivalry is a rivalry in the NFL. The two teams have played each other twice a year since becoming division rivals in 1970, the lone exception being 1982, when the annual matchup in Cincinnati was canceled due to the player's strike; the teams only met in Week 2 in Pittsburgh that season just before the start of the strike. Originally placed in the AFC Central following the NFL-AFL merger, the two teams currently compete in that division's successor, the AFC North.

Though not as historic as both of the team's rivalries with the Cleveland Browns (Battle of Ohio and Browns-Steelers rivalry, respectively) or as bitter as their rivalries with the Baltimore Ravens, the Bengals and Steelers are still divisional foes with many similarities. Both Cincinnati and Pittsburgh are situated on the Ohio River, and both of the cities baseball teams (Reds and Pirates) play in the NL Central--the two baseball teams, in fact, had their own rivalry in the 1970's. Both of the team's former stadiums, Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati and Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, were often confused for one another due to their similar names and architectural styles, even for "cookie-cutter" standards of the day.

Though the Steelers have mostly dominated this rivalry, it has heated up in recent seasons due to the Bengals resurgence among NFL teams. Even during the Bengals' dismal years in the 1990's and early 2000's when they were one of the NFL's worst teams, they would at times get the better of the Steelers, who were usually the dominant team in the division during the "Bungals" years. One notable example came in 1999, when the Bengals swept the Steelers in the season series while finishing 4-12 overall. (Their other two wins came against the Browns, who had returned to the NFL as an expansion team that season.) The Steelers themselves were going through a rare down year, finishing 6-10 for the season.

While the Steelers have a much older rivalry with the Browns and have a longer history against several teams from the NFC due to the Steelers being part of the "old" NFL prior to the 1970 merger, the Bengals have met the Steelers more than anyone else in their own history, due to the Tennessee Titans being moved to the new AFC South in the 2002 realignment, while the Browns missed keeping pace due to being out of the league for three years.

The rivalry has enjoyed a revival since meeting in the playoffs for the first time in the 2005 wild card. During the game, division champion Cincinnati quarterback Carson Palmer was injured by Steeler Kimo von Oelhoffen. Palmer's injured ACL and MCL kept him out of the game, which the Steelers won 37-17. After undergoing surgery to repair the damaged ligaments, Palmer was featured in a Sports Illustrated article focusing on the new technique used to repair his knee. In that article, Palmer is quoted as saying "I hate the Steelers more than I hate UCLA," [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0605/gallery.palmer/content.1.html SI.com - Photo Gallery - The Rehab of Carson Palmer ] ] a reference to his college days at USC. Many fans from both sides remain bitter about this episode.

Pittsburgh has a 52-27 series lead against the Bengals.

1970's (Steelers 13-5)

Year	Result	Location	Notes
1970	Steelers 21 Bengals 10	Three Rivers Stadium	The inaugural game.
	Bengals 34 Steelers 7	Riverfront Stadium
1971	Steelers 21 Bengals 10	Three Rivers Stadium
	Steelers 21 Bengals 13	Riverfront Stadium	Steelers' first-ever season sweep of Cincinnati
1972	Bengals 15 Steelers 10	Riverfront Stadium
	Steelers 40 Bengals 17	Three Rivers Stadium
1973	Bengals 17 Steelers 10	Riverfront Stadium
	Steelers 20 Bengals 13	Three Rivers Stadium
1974	Bengals 17 Steelers 10	Riverfront Stadium
	Steelers 27 Bengals 3	Three Rivers Stadium
1975	Steelers 30 Bengals 24	Riverfront Stadium
	Steelers 35 Bengals 14	Three Rivers Stadium
1976	Steelers 23 Bengals 6	Three Rivers Stadium
	Steelers 7 Bengals 3	Riverfront Stadium
1977	Steelers 20 Bengals 14	Three Rivers Stadium
	Bengals 17 Browns 10	Riverfront Stadium
1978	Steelers 28 Bengals 3	Riverfront Stadium
	Steelers 7 Bengals 6	Three Rivers Stadium
1979	Bengals 34 Steelers 10	Riverfront Stadium
	Steelers 33 Bengals 30 OT	Three Rivers Stadium

1980's (Bengals 13-6)

Year	Result	Location	Notes
1980	Bengals 30 Steelers 28	Riverfront Stadium
	Bengals 17 Steelers 16	Three Rivers Stadium	Bengals' first-ever season sweep of Pittsburgh
1981	Bengals 34 Steelers 7	Riverfront Stadium
	Bengals 17 Steelers 10	Three Rivers Stadium
1982	Steelers 26 Bengals 20 OT	Three Rivers Stadium	Only Meeting Between Teams Due To Players' Strike
1983	Steelers 24 Bengals 14	Riverfront Stadium
	Bengals 23 Steelers 10	Three Rivers Stadium
1984	Steelers 38 Bengals 17	Three Rivers Stadium
	Bengals 22 Steelers 20	Riverfront Stadium
1985	Bengals 37 Steelers 24	Three Rivers Stadium
	Bengals 26 Bengals 21	Riverfront Stadium
1986	Bengals 24 Steelers 22	Three Rivers Stadium
	Steelers 30 Bengals 9	Riverfront Stadium
1987	Steelers 23 Bengals 20	Three Rivers Stadium
	Steelers 30 Bengals 16	Riverfront Stadium	Steelers' Lone 2-Game Sweep of the Bengals during the '80s
1988	Bengals 17 Steelers 12	Three Rivers Stadium
	Bengals 42 Steelers 7	Riverfront Stadium
1989	Bengals 41 Steelers 10	Riverfront Stadium
	Bengals 26 Steelers 16	Three Rivers Stadium

1990's (Steelers 15-5)

Year	Result	Location	Notes
1990	Bengals 27 Steelers 3	Riverfront Stadium
	Bengals 16 Steelers 12	Three Rivers Stadium
1991	Steelers 33 Bengals 27	Riverfront Stadium
	Steelers 17 Bengals 10	Three Rivers Stadium
1992	Steelers 20 Bengals 0	Three Rivers Stadium	Steelers' first-ever shutout win over the Bengals, as Pittsburgh's defense sacked QB David Klingler (in his first NFL start) 10 times.
	Steelers 21 Bengals 9	Riverfront Stadium
1993	Steelers 37 Bengals 7	Three Rivers Stadium
	Steelers 24 Bengals 16	Riverfront Stadium
1994	Steelers 14 Browns 10	Three Rivers Stadium
	Steelers 38 Bengals 15	Riverfront Stadium
1995	Bengals 27 Steelers 9	Three Rivers Stadium
	Steelers 49 Bengals 31	Riverfront Stadium
1996	Bengals 20 Bengals 10	Three Rivers Stadium
	Bengals 34 Steelers 24	Riverfront Stadium
1997	Steelers 26 Bengals 10	Riverfront Stadium
	Steelers 20 Bengals 3	Three Rivers Stadium
1998	Bengals 25 Steelers 20	Riverfront Stadium
	Bengals 25 Steelers 24	Three Rivers Stadium
1999	Steelers 17 Bengals 3	Riverfront Stadium	Final meeting at Riverfront Stadium
	Bengals 27 Steelers 20	Three Rivers Stadium

2000's (Steelers 13-4)

Year	Result	Location	Notes
2000	Steelers 15 Bengals 0	Three Rivers Stadium	Final meeting in Three Rivers Stadium.
	Steelers 48 Bengals 28	Paul Brown Stadium	First meeting at Paul Brown Stadium
2001	Steelers 16 Bengals 7	Heinz Field	First-ever game and meeting at Heinz Field
	Bengals 26 Steelers 23 OT	Paul Brown Stadium
2002	Steelers 34 Bengals 7	Paul Brown Stadium
	Steelers 29 Bengals 21	Heinz Field
2003	Steelers 17 Bengals 10	Paul Brown Stadium
	Bengals 24 Steelers 20	Heinz Field
2004	Steelers 28 Bengals 17	Heinz Field
	Steelers 19 Bengals 14	Paul Brown Stadium
2005	Steelers 27 Bengals 13	Paul Brown Stadium
	Bengals 38 Steelers 31	Heinz Field
	Steelers 31 Bengals 17	Paul Brown Stadium	First and (so far) only playoff meeting. Wild Card Playoff Game. Despite losing QB Carson Palmer on their second offensive play of the game, Cincinnati took an early 17-7 lead. However, Pittsburgh would rally to score 24 unanswered points for the win.
2006	Bengals 28 Steelers 20	Heinz Field
	Steelers 23 Bengals 17	Paul Brown Stadium
2007	Steelers 24 Bengals 13	Paul Brown Stadium
	Steelers 24 Bengals 10	Heinz Field
2008	1p.m. EST	Paul Brown Stadium
		Heinz Field