CINCINNATI - All week long, they played nice. The Bengals and the Steelers went out of their way to curb their comments about how they really feel about each other.
Umm, let's talk about something else. Treat it like just a game. Forget that rivalry stuff.
"All that stuff's over when you get into the playoffs," Bengals left tackle Andrew Whitworth said. "It really doesn't matter who it is or what division they're from."
Sorry. Nobody's buying it.
The Ohio River rivals have such a deep dislike for each other that they traded nasty words and tweets before they met Dec. 13 at Paul Brown Stadium, and then scuffled on the field during pregame warmups. There were so many personal fouls during the game the league handed out more than $100,000 in fines.
Four weeks later, the only difference is that the stakes are higher.
The Bengals (12-4) are putting their 25-year streak of playoff futility on the line tonight against the Steelers (10-6), trying to do a better job of keeping their cool. They got caught up in the emotion and suffered a meltdown four weeks ago, a 33-20 defeat that basically cost them a playoff bye and their starting quarterback.
Andy Dalton was leading the league in passer rating when he broke his thumb while making a tackle during an interception return. A.J. McCarron took over and threw a pair of interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown.
And the trash talking went on endlessly, getting so out of hand that Bengals coach Marvin Lewis and Steelers coach Mike Tomlin talked about it by phone the following day.
Television monitors in the Bengals locker room this week had the usual schedule of activities, plus a quote from franchise founder Paul Brown: "The key to winning is poise under stress."
Translation: Cool it.
And that goes for the Steelers, too. Right tackle Marcus Gilbert tweeted - and later deleted - after the win four weeks ago: "All I want for Christmas is the Bengals. Would love to see them in the playoffs where they choke. The talking is done between the lines."
They're saving it for today.
"We left that behind us," Gilbert said. "I know those guys, they're not trying to get suspended or lose any money out of their pockets the third go-round. ... All that stuff that happened weeks back is out of the window. We're trying to get this win as badly as they are."
Some things to watch tonight at Paul Brown Stadium:
• Cincinnati hasn't won a playoff game since the 1990 season, the sixth-longest streak of postseason futility in NFL history. Coach Marvin Lewis is 0-6, tied with Jim Mora for most consecutive playoff losses to start a career. The Steelers and Bengals have met only once in the playoffs, and that was 10 years ago when Carson Palmer got his knee torn up on his first pass and Pittsburgh won 31-17. The Steelers are 14-3 all time at Paul Brown Stadium, which opened in 2000.
• McCarron hasn't thrown an interception in his three starts in Dalton's place, leading the Bengals to a 2-1 mark. History is against him: No quarterback with so little NFL starting experience has won a playoff game since Gifford Nielsen led the Houston Oilers over the Chargers in the 1979 season.
• Cincinnati gave up 279 points, the fewest in franchise history and the fewest in the AFC.
STEELERS: OUT: RB DeAngelo Williams (foot). PROBABLE: S Will Allen (not injury related), WR Martavis Bryant (neck), CB William Gay (not injury related), LB James Harrison (not injury related), TE Heath Miller (not injury related), LB Vince Williams (illness). BENGALS: OUT: QB Andy Dalton (right thumb), TE Ryan Hewitt (knee). PROBABLE: CB Leon Hall (concussion, back).