Week 17 - Early Games Preview

Here's a look at games I'll be covering early today, Playoff Eve:

In Cincinnati, The Chin will wrestle for likely his last time as a Steeler (until he's called out of retirement by Art Rooney III in 2020). The Bengals picked up a little stomach bug that's drained energy out of much of the team. Bad timing, this; they're hoping for Oakland to be their shining hero, beating the Jets and opening a playoff opportunity for them. I'll be posting updates on the Bengals' chances throughout the contest. You may make your "Bengals rooting for Raiders" jokes in the comments; I'm personally rather excited that a Raiders game might matter this year.

In Dallas, the Cowboys rest up for the playoffs against the Lions, who are angling for Jeff Samardzija. (As a Cubs fan, I say, "Bully!") I'll be checking in on this game with Ghetto Picture-in-Picture (13" TV set up for just this occasion) so I can see if Roy Williams spontaneously combusts or if Rod Marinelli's scheduled hip surgery could give him Larry Brown-like powers over mediocrity.