The Pittsburgh Steelers are preparing for one of their biggest games of the season. Pittsburgh will travel to Cincinnati for a Sunday Night Football showdown in Week 10. This AFC North matchup will be especially exciting for one Steelers coach who grew up as a fan of the division.
Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy explained why he is so excited for Sunday's primetime game with the Bengals.
“There's nothing like this division. I probably said the same thing when I was in the other divisions,” McCarthy said on Thursday, per Brian Batko of Steelers.com.
McCarthy's upbringing in Pittsburgh seems to have cemented the AFC North in his mind as the best division in the league. Part of the appeal is the rich history of each team in the division.
“Growing up as a kid here, when it was the AFC Central, I can definitely relate to the history of all these franchises,” McCarthy added. “You know, Baltimore's replaced ‘Luv Ya Blue' down there in Houston, but these are great games. I've competed in Cincinnati before, but to go in there in a prime-time game, huge division game, these are the games you look forward to. These are games you talk about. Hopefully, this will be a game we're talking about for some time.”
Perhaps McCarthy will run into Mike Tomlin in Cincinnati. Pittsburgh's head coach praised Tomlin in a recent interview for the good job he's doing as an analyst at NBC Sports. Sunday Night Football is broadcast on NBC, so Tomlin will be on the scene all night.
Beyond that, this matchup is enticing simply because of what's at stake. Both teams are 6-2 and sit atop the AFC North standings. The winner will gain a crucial advantage just as the playoff race begins to heat up.
It will be exciting to see which team comes out on top in this one.
Steelers at Bengals kicks off at 8:20 p.m. ET on Nov 15 from Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati.