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Cincinnati Bengals: Two weeks of preseason shows how strong AFC North could be

By Steve Rivera

LANDOVER, MD - AUGUST 27: Quarterback Andy Dalton #14 of the Cincinnati Bengals looks on from the line of scrimmage against the Washington Redskins in the first half during a preseason game at FedExField on August 27, 2017 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD - AUGUST 27: Quarterback Andy Dalton #14 of the Cincinnati Bengals looks on from the line of scrimmage against the Washington Redskins in the first half during a preseason game at FedExField on August 27, 2017 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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PITTSBURGH, PA – DECEMBER 30: JuJu Smith-Schuster #19 of the Pittsburgh Steelers reacts after a 11 yard touchdown reception in the third quarter during the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Heinz Field on December 30, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA – DECEMBER 30: JuJu Smith-Schuster #19 of the Pittsburgh Steelers reacts after a 11 yard touchdown reception in the third quarter during the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Heinz Field on December 30, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

If the Pittsburgh Steelers were a dumpster fire in 2018, don’t look for a repeat of that in 2019. Heading into Week 3 of the exhibition season, whatever hangover might have been feared can be put to rest. At 2-0 with a game Sunday at Tennessee, any hopes of a continued implosion are over.

That’s bad news for an AFC North who might have thought the Steelers would not or could not recover from last season. With all the distractions elsewhere, Pittsburgh looks to be on the way back and in the mix for a run at media darling, the Browns.

Nowhere is the contrast greater from what the Steelers faced last season than with JuJu Smith-Schuster. The 22-year-old has taken on the role of mentor and team leader, and looks all the world to be what Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell never could be.

"”Obviously, all eyes are on me,” Smith-Schuster said before practice Wednesday, ”and the biggest question is, ‘How are the Steelers going to be without two great players that we used to have?’ And, ‘How is JuJu going to do without AB?”’"

Next. 3 reasons Ryan Finley is getting so much attention. dark

If, and it’s a big ”if”, Ju-Ju and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger can turn the page on the rampant dysfunction that was the 2018 Steelers, the Cincinnati Bengals and the rest of the AFC North could find themselves looking up at the one time standard bearer of the division.

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