Update: Antonio Brown is active for this matchup after battling a toe injury in practice. You can read more about the news here.

It's time for Marvin Lewis to make his last stand as the head coach of the Bengals. Lewis, who's been in charge in Cincinnati since 2003, has led the franchise to a fair amount of success, but he's failed to win a single playoff game (0-7), and with the Bengals heading toward what could be a second straight playoff-less season, it's fair to assume that Lewis' job is slipping away from him.

But a win on Monday night could change that. Fittingly, Lewis' last stand will come against an opponent that's haunted his tenure: the Pittsburgh Steelers, a team that's gone 23-8 against Lewis' Bengals.

Week 13 of "Monday Night Football" brings us to Cincinnati, where the Bengals will host their AFC North nemesis. It's a must-win game for the Bengals.

At 5-6 after consecutive wins, the Bengals are 1.5 games back of the Ravens for the final playoff spot in the AFC, but that deficit is really 2.5 games considering the Bengals lost to the Ravens back in Week 1 (they'll meet again in Week 17). So, they can't afford to fall much further behind. Beating the Steelers at home is no easy task, but it's not impossible. This is a Steelers team that's prone to slip-ups against foes they should dismantle. Just ask the Chicago Bears.

Don't expect the Steelers to experience a lull against a hated division rival, though. The Steelers are tied with the Patriots atop the AFC (with a game to go against them), so they also can't afford to slip up if they want to enter January with realistic Super Bowl aspirations. Plus, there's the added bonus of KOing a team that it certainly hates.

In their first meeting back in Week 7, the Bengals got routed, 29-14. Expect a similar result on Monday night. The Bengals might be desperate and desperation is a helluva drug in the NFL, but they simply don't have the firepower to keep pace with the Steelers. The Marvin Lewis Era won't officially end on Monday night, but we could witness the beginning of the end.

It's only fitting that the Steelers are the team that'll perform a very public execution.

The prediction: Steelers 27, Bengals 14
"MNF" prediction record: 10-2

How to watch, stream

  • When: Monday at 8:30 p.m. ET
  • Where: Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati
  • TV: ESPN
  • Streaming: WatchESPN  

Note: All stats/rankings are accurate entering Sunday's Week 13 slate of games.

Steelers have the better QB

Much has been made about Ben Roethlisberger's struggles this season. There was that meltdown against the Jaguars. There have been 12 interceptions in all. And there's been plenty of moments that suggest the end is near for the Steelers legend.

But very quietly, Roethlisberger has started performing like a high-level quarterback again. Since that five-pick meltdown against the Jaguars in Week 5, Roethlisberger has thrown 14 touchdowns and five interceptions for a 103.6 passer rating. He's still prone to lapses in consistency, but he's been good enough. Make no mistake about it, the Steelers will have the better quarterback on Monday night.

Andy Dalton is still Andy Dalton. He's not awful. He's not really good. He's a middling quarterback. This year, he's completing 62 percent of his passes and averaging 7.3 yards per pass. He's thrown 18 touchdowns and eight picks for a 92.5 passer rating. Again, not bad, not good, just very Dalton-y. And that's not good enough for a team of the Bengals' caliber. They need a transcendent quarterback to get over the playoff hump. That's certainly not Dalton.

It's not just Lewis who could be living out his finals days in Cincinnati. It's very possible that Dalton could be on his way out, too. According to Spotrac, the Bengals can cut Dalton in the offseason and take on just $2.4 million in dead cap instead of paying him $16.3 million.

This could be Dalton's last stand too.

Bengals D vs. Steelers O

The bigger concern for the Bengals is that they have no way to stop Antonio Brown, who continues to make his case as the NFL's best receiver. Brown leads the league in receiving yards with 1,195 and is tied for the second-most touchdown catches with eight. On Monday night, he'll face a stiff test, because he'll be going up against a Bengals defense that allows the fifth-fewest passing yards per game.

In the secondary, keep an eye on Adam Jones and William Jackson. They've been the Bengals' best cornerbacks by passer rating in coverage. Jones, who plays a heck of a lot more than Jackson, has allowed a 73.8 passer rating in coverage, according to Pro Football Focus. Meanwhile, Jackson has allowed a 41.4 passer rating in coverage -- the second-lowest among qualified cornerbacks, per PFF.

That being said, if you're asking me to pick between Brown and the Bengals' secondary, I'm always taking Brown. Perfect defense doesn't matter when a receiver can do this:

Another reason why the Bengals are so good against opposing aerial assaults? They can rush the passer. They're third in the NFL in sacks. Geno Atkins and Carl Lawson lead the way with seven sacks apiece, while Carlos Dunlap, Michael Johnson, and Chris Smith have combined for 10.5 sacks. The trenches will be another fun battle to watch. According to PFF, Big Ben has been under pressure on just 26.3 percent of his passes -- only two quarterbacks have a lower pressure rate. If the Bengals can manage to penetrate the Steelers' line, they'll have a fighting chance in the game. According to PFF, Roethlisberger's passer rating drops to 52.4 when he's under pressure.

OK, so let's say that the Bengals find a way to get after Big Ben and limit Brown's explosive plays. Even if they accomplish that much, they'll have to deal with Le'Veon Bell, who remains the most complete back in football (when David Johnson isn't healthy). Bell is the league leader in yards from scrimmage with 1,377.

The point being, the Steelers simply have too many weapons for the Bengals' defense to experience a dominant outing. And while the Bengals' defense is solid, it's not out-of-this-world like the Steelers' offense. They're ranked 16th in defensive DVOA while the Steelers are fifth in offensive DVOA. It's a fun matchup, but give the Steelers' offense the edge.

Of note: I guess there's a chance that Brown could miss the game with a toe injury. If that happens, the Bengals can expect a whole lot more of Bell.

Bengals need big outing from A.J. Green

The Steelers are going to score points. That much is a given. It's up to the Bengals' offense to keep pace with them. To do that, they'll need A.J. Green to carry them.

Green's piecing together yet another stellar season -- 809 yards, six touchdowns, and 15.3 yards per catch -- but they need to get him the ball more consistently. Green has been targeted 92 times this season, which ranks 12th among all receivers. Brown, for the sake of comparison, has garnered the second-most targets with 126. Green isn't quite on Brown's level, but he's still one of the best receivers in the game. The Bengals need to find a way to get him the ball more frequently. The last time they played, Green saw only six targets. He caught three of them for 41 yards.

Of note: Pittsburgh cornerback Joe Haden still isn't ready to return from a fractured fibula.

Can Joe Mixon continue success?

Of course, it'd help if the Bengals can run the ball. They haven't been able to so far this season. They're averaging the second-fewest rushing yards per game (75.6) and the second-fewest yards per carry (3.2).

Perhaps there's hope though. Last week, rookie Joe Mixon finally broke out against the Browns, picking up 114 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries, which means he averaged nearly five yards per carry. He entered the game averaging 2.9 yards per carry.

Mixon will certainly be motivated considering his weird ongoing beef with Le'Veon Bell, who has ripped Mixon for copying his running style and fashion sense. Like I said, it's weird. It's so weird that always controversial Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict is actually trying to argue that Mixon is better than Bell, which is like trying to make the argument that Mitchell Trubisky is better than Tom Brady.

Nope. Not happening.

Steelers' D in need of a rebound

Something to keep an eye on as the Steelers get ready to make a postseason run: how their defense plays down the stretch. Overall, they've been impressive this season, allowing 17.5 points per game, racking up 38 sacks (only Jacksonville has more), and checking in at fourth in defensive DVOA.

But what happened a week ago was alarming, when they let the Brett Hundley-quarterbacked Packers drop 28 points on them. Hundley's been a disaster pretty much all season, yet he threw for 245 yards and three touchdowns, and posted 134.3 passer rating against them. The Steelers' defense made him look like Aaron Rodgers. They did that by blowing countless coverages.

The Steelers' defense needs to rebound -- maybe not to beat an outmatched Bengals team, but if they're going to beat the Patriots come January. They'll get a nice chance to right the ship against an offense that is scoring only 18.1 points per game. But if they struggle against another bad offense, it might be time to start worrying in Pittsburgh.