CINCINNATI – When the Bengals and Steelers take the field, there will be eight players who spent their high school career in Texas. Seven of those play for Cincinnati.
Katy high school graduate Andy Dalton is the one everyone will keep an eye on Monday night. His 2,372 passing yards rank 21st in the lead as he’s led his Bengals to a 5-6 record. Although his team is 3-2 in its last five games, Dalton is not at fault. In that stretch, he has thrown nine touchdowns and no interceptions.
To help Dalton, he has Houston native Brandon LaFell. He’s been targeted at least five times in eight games this year and each of the last three games. LaFell had his best game three weeks ago against Tennessee when he racked up 95 yards and a score. He has not scored since, and it’ll be a tough task to do so Monday night against a tough Pittsburgh defense.
Defensively, the Bengals have one Texan in George Iloka. Iloka has only one interception this year. However, the veteran safety is facing a quarterback in Ben Roethlisberger who’s averaging just over one a game.
Both teams kickers, Randy Bullock and Chris Boswell, are from Texas as well. Boswell, who has 28 attempts on the year, has had many more chances compared to Bullocks 13 tries.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 Monday night. A win for Pittsburgh would inch them closer to securing the AFC North and a loss for Cincinnati would hinder its chances to see postseason play.
Gerald Tracy is an assistant editor of Texas football for TexasHSFootball, covering prep football in the San Antonio region. Follow Gerald on Twitter, @GTracySports, and read more of his content here.
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