The most anticipated game of the year is here in Week 3.

The most anticipated game of the year is here in Week 3.

These two teams with Super Bowl aspirations loathe each other. The fans despise each other. The Bengals won the AFC North last year, only to watch Pittsburgh celebrate a Super Bowl championship. And the road to the Steelers' title started with a first-round playoff date in Cincinnati, where Bengals star quarterback Carson Palmer had his knee shredded on a legal hit and had to leave the game in the opening minutes. After the game, Steelers coach Bill Cowher mocked the Bengals' "Who Dey" chant. And it got even hotter over the summer when Palmer, a former USC star, told Mike Silver of Sports Illustrated, "I hate the Steelers. I hate them more than I hate UCLA."

Bring it on!

Right now, Cincinnati boasts the better running attack with Rudi Johnson running behind a great offensive line. As former Steeler and current ESPN analyst Merrill Hoge told me this week, "Rudi Johnson is the toughest back to take down in the NFL."

And the Steelers have to play this game with a banged-up Troy Polamalu. The superstar safety's shoulder is banged up. It was easy to tell Polamalu wasn't right on two plays this past Monday night, when Fred Taylor broke a potential tackle, and when Maurice Jones-Drew stoned Polamalu as he tried to sack Byron Leftwich coming on a blitz on a key third down. But Polamalu practiced fully on Wednesday.

And Palmer shook off his Week 1 rust by looking like his brilliant self last week in Cleveland. You just know a game, a situation, like this is made for Palmer and Chad Johnson.
Ben Roethlisberger comes off an uneven game last week against Jacksonville, still rounding into shape from everything he has been through — missing time and losing weight after his motorcycle accident, then not being able to play in Week 1 against Miami following an emergency appendectomy. But as Bengals safety Madieu Williams told me Wednesday, "We fully expect to see the efficient and play-making Roethlisberger this week."

So how is going to win? How about it Brian