Rarely do the Pittsburgh Steelers offer the panacea for what ails the Cincinnati Bengals, but that could be just the case Sunday night.

The Bengals offense enters the game ranked 32^nd — dead last — in the NFL in third-down efficiency, having converted just 26.7 percent (20-of-75) of its opportunities. But the Steelers defense ranks 31^st in third-down efficiency, allowing opponents to move the chains at a rate of 49.2 percent (29-of-59).

“Maybe that will be good for us,” Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said.

The Bengals actually made strides on third down last week, converting 5 of 14 chances despite losing 34-24 in Cleveland. The five conversions were a season high, as was the 36 percent rate. But those numbers still are far from good.

“Third down is huge,” quarterback Andy Dalton said. “It’s keeping drives alive, and keep moving the chains. It’s what you have to do. We’ve got to be better on first and second down to make it easier on third down.

“When you get in third-and-long a lot, it’s just tough to convert,” Dalton continued. “We’ve got to be able to get positive yards on first and second down to make it easier for us.”

The Bengals have converted just six third downs of 6 yards or more this season, going 6 of 40 (15 percent).

When the line to gain is 5 yards or less, the team is 14 of 35 (40 percent), which still isn’t great considering the NFL average for all distances is 38.4 percent.

“That’s one thing we need to get better with,” Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green said. “That would give our defense a break. Some of the plays we run are inches off. It’s little stuff that that we need to correct.”

Pittsburgh, a franchise built on defense, is coming off a game where it allowed the Tennessee Titans to convert 9 of 16 third downs, including 4 of 5 in the second half.

Four times the Titans converted on third-and-8 or longer, which is something the Bengals hope they can exploit.

“Our offense hasn’t been as good, and (the Steelers) defense hasn’t been as good as they expect,” Lewis said. “It’s going to be a key matchup in the game all the way through.”

During their current four-game losing streak against Pittsburgh, the Bengals have converted on only 11 of 42 (26.2) of their third downs. But they weren’t much better in 2009 when they swept the Steelers, going 7 of 26 (26.9 percent).

And Cincinnati hasn’t been any better this season even in its three wins, converting only 9 of 32 (28.1 percent).

“We have to coach better, and we have to do a better job preparing our guys,” Lewis said. “We have to put our guys in situations where they can just relax and do it the way they practiced it. Not press in any of those situations. That’s important.”