Cincinnati ? For nine excruciating years, offensive tackle Willie Anderson went home in January, fired up the grill, watched the NFL playoffs and fantasized about getting there someday.

Turns out, fantasy is nothing like reality.

The Cincinnati Bengals are back in the playoffs for the first time in 15 years, feeling wholly out of place. Not even the weather is following the script – above-average temperatures leading up to the first-round game today against Pittsburgh.

“It’s a new feeling for us,” said Anderson, who has lost 99 games in 10 Cincinnati seasons. “I always thought it would be freezing and zero degrees right now. That’s how I always pictured the week of a playoff game in Cincinnati.”

Their fans did, too. After 15 years without so much as one winning record, they were convinced that someplace would have to freeze over before the Bengals made the playoffs. When they finally made it, they got another surreal surprise.

The one team that dominated the Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium this season is coming back, looking to do it again. The Steelers (11-5) had some of their best moments during a 27-13 victory Oct. 23 – a season-high 221 yards on the ground in an emphatic win over an upstart rival.

The Bengals (11-5) won a 38-31 shootout on Dec. 4 in Pittsburgh – Ben Roethlisberger’s first game back from injuries.

“They won our division. It’s redemption time,” Steelers receiver Hines Ward said.