CINCINNATI -- For all of the Cincinnati Bengals' strides in the past few weeks, it comes with a bittersweet feeling for some.

The Bengals appear to be improving, but it’s almost certainly too late. If the Bengals win out and miss the playoffs, the season will take on a ‘what could have been’ tone.

“I feel like we’re starting to become the big bully again,” said cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick. “We’re kind of hot, and we’re going to be even more hot when we get Mr. [A.J.] Green back. We’ve just got to continue to keep fighting right now.”

At best, the Bengals can win out and finish the season with an 8-7-1 record. Standing in their way is the Pittsburgh Steelers, who the Bengals host this week.

Beating the Steelers won’t save the season. But it would be a start.

In order to win the AFC North, the Bengals need the Steelers and Ravens to lose their final three games. Considering the Steelers’ final game is against the winless Browns, it’s an unlikely proposition. The AFC North title will almost certainly go to Pittsburgh or Baltimore. If the Bengals lose to Pittsburgh, that would remove any chance for Cincinnati to win the division.

But if things don’t fall in the Bengals' favor, they probably wouldn’t mind making Pittsburgh’s path to the postseason a little more difficult, particularly since the Steelers knocked the Bengals out of the playoffs last season.

The Steelers-Bengals rivalry has been particularly heated in the past few years, and it's clear that players on both sides enjoy the battles these games often become. If the huge fines levied on players from both teams are any indication, there’s always a little extra juice when the two teams play each other.

Perhaps that’s why Bengals safety George Iloka already knew what was coming up next during his postgame interview session. While he enjoyed beating the Browns to establish Cincinnati’s first win streak of the season, his mind was already looking ahead.

“It’s a win. We’re going to enjoy it on the plane ride and then it’s on to Pittsburgh, because they’re going to be trying to come in our house and bring it,” Iloka said. “We’re playing for a lot, they’re playing for a lot, so, this game means nothing in terms of next week. It’s a win. That’s it. One more win than last week.”

The Steelers defeated the Bengals during their first meeting in September, but it was an odd game without two of the biggest stars on both teams. Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell wasn’t playing while serving a three-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy. Now the Bengals are facing him when he’s playing arguably some of the best football of his career. Bell rushed for more than 100 yards in each of the past four games, and he hammered the Bills on Sunday, running for 236 yards and three touchdowns.

It’s also the first time the Steelers will face Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict since the AFC wild-card game last January. Burfict’s helmet-to-helmet hit on wide receiver Antonio Brown knocked him out of the game and gave him a concussion. That hit seemed to be the final straw for the NFL, which suspended Burfict for three games for repeated violations of player safety. Burfict has also been playing some of his best football of late, picking off Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz twice last week.

While the Bengals tried to be mum about Pittsburgh in the weeks leading up to their first meeting this season, that could change this week; they are almost a year removed from the wild ending to their playoff game.

If it’s anything like previous matchups, expect lots of trash talking and some hard hits on the field from both teams this week.