Marvin Lewis "Baltimore is their rival, we're no one's rival

[stillthere]

http://steelerswire.usatoday.com/2016/01/06/marvin-lewis-on-the-steelers-baltimore-is-their-rival-were-no-ones-rival/

Marvin Lewis on the Steelers: "Baltimore is their rival, we're no one's rival"

Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis downplayed the implications surrounding his team’s date this Saturday night with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Downplayed and outright denied.

“Baltimore is their (Pittsburgh’s) rival,” Lewis told reporters on a conference call on Tuesday. “We’re no one’s rivals. We just go play.”

The last time Pittsburgh and Cincinnati met up, the NFL ended up handing out over $100,000 to several players for a variety of rules infractions, including but not limited to fighting, unsportsmanlike conduct, dancing and hilariously punting the ball into the stands. Vontaze Burfict and Antonio Brown were both almost removed from the game for fighting, and Andrew Whitworth and Marcus Gilbert both took to Twitter to voice their disdain for the other team.

In other words, if that isn’t a rivalry, I’m not sure what is.

The magnitude of Saturday’s matchup is amplified by the fact that it serves as the proverbial rubber match between these warring parties, as each team stole a game at the opponent’s home stadium this season. Perhaps even more prevalent is the tremendous pressure that faces each side. The Bengals haven’t won a playoff game since 1987 and have been booted from the Wildcard round in each of the past three seasons while the Steelers have not won a playoff game since 2010. Either way, someone is going to break a troubled streak while the other will have an entire offseason to reflect on the pain of that loss.

Again, sounds like a rivalry to me.

[Obviously]

Whatever Marvin. Go take your meds.

[Legacy User]

The Bengals went to the Super Bowl in '88, so obviously they've won playoff games since 1987. I thought 1990 was the last time for them.

[jeemie]

The Bengals went to the Super Bowl in '88, so obviously they've won playoff games since 1987. I thought 1990 was the last time for them.

Editing is a lost art in some branches of journalism, it appears.

[Donnie Brasco]

including but not limited to fighting, unsportsmanlike conduct, dancing and hilariously punting the ball into the stands.

Oddly only one of those infractions were not penalized...