After a much-needed victory last week, the Pittsburgh Steelers host their first divisional opponent in the form of the Cincinnati Bengals in this week’s action. While there was much anticipation for this game early in the season leading to a Sunday night prime time slot scheduled, it has since been flexed out late afternoon. Ironically, that seems to be a microcosm of the Steelers’ season. What once held hope, promise, and optimism for ‘five-star matchups’ is now a bumpy, lackluster one with a mundane ‘we’ll take what we can get’ attitude. But after a thrilling upset victory in Cincinnati to start the season, there is a lot to look forward to this go-around for the home team. Could we see our first back-to-back set of wins this season?
Steelers' Najee Harris (#22) makes a cut against the Cincinnati Bengals in Pittsburgh, PA on September 26, 2021. | Credit: Jordan Schofield/SteelerNation (JSKO_PHOTO Twitter)
Let’s take a look at some things we can look forward to when the Steelers take on the Bengals.
MATCHUPS AT A GLANCE
Offense: The offensive matchups are completely different than what we saw in the first game. In a game that featured Mitch Trubisky at quarterback, Chase Claypool as the leading rusher, and Pat Freiermuth as the leading receiver, the formula this week is going to be very different. Looking back to the key to victory last week, it was the two-headed running monster of Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren that took over the game. Albeit against the 22nd-ranked rush defense, the duo combined for 136 yards on the ground and made Kenny Pickett’s life incredibly easy under center. Not to mention, Pickett even chipped in on the rushing effort with 51 yards of his own. With a blossomed rushing attack, that is what I am watching for this go-around.
The opposing rush defense is allowing an average of roughly 118 yards-per-game on the ground, which is 17th in the league. As we see in any other divisional matchup, the game is won in the trenches, so it is no wonder the rushing attack was working hard in practice this week. After a lethargic start to the season, Harris seems to be back to his normal self and commended Warren’s efforts in relief to help. In addition to that, Harris even revealed some insight as to a more unconventional offensive scheme we may see this week:
"The Wildcat opens up the package options for a lot of stuff," he said. "You can pass, you can do a lot of stuff with it. You can expand it to do a lot of other things, too. So that’s just another way of forcing defenses to gameplan against that."
The Steelers' Jaylen Warren (#30) runs up the sideline in Pittsburgh, PA. | Credit: Jordan Schofield/SteelerNation (JSKO_PHOTO Twitter)
While we’ve only seen relatively unsuccessful attempts at that Wildcat scheme, they can’t rule out anything with a 3-6 record. However, if they find a way to eclipse the century mark on the ground, either Harris or Warren, the odds of a Pittsburgh victory skyrocket. Ironically enough, it’s been almost five years since a Pittsburgh running back posted over 100 rushing yards in a game against Cincinnati. The last time that happened was October 22nd, 2017 (Le’Veon Bell, 134 yards). Meanwhile, Harris hasn’t seen 100 rushing yards in 322 days. The offense thinks they’ve finally found their identity on offense, and if they want to walk out of Sunday with a win, the rushing attack will be the deciding factor in that.
Defense: Unlike the offense, the majority of the defensive group remains fairly similar to what we saw 11 weeks ago. In that historic defensive performance, the defense racked up 7 sacks against Joe Burrow with 4 interceptions, including a pick-six by Minkah Fitzpatrick. However, in the waning moments of the game, Ja’Marr Chase and Burrow took over to the tune of finishing with 129 yards and the game-tying touchdown. Chase has had a lot of success in his three games versus the Steelers. He’s put up 233 yards on 17 catches with 3 touchdowns amongst those games. However, Chase will be sitting out this week due to a hip injury. Make no mistake, Tee Higgins has also had his fair share of success against Pittsburgh and will need to be accounted for. However, with Chase missing action and the Steelers’ secondary seeing a face lift of their own, it will be the defensive front looking for a repeat performance that will be the key this week.
the Steelers' defense gets ready to take on the New Orleans Saints in Pittsburgh, PA. | Credit: Jordan Schofield/SteelerNation (JSKO_PHOTO Twitter)
The defensive line was dominant in the week one victory. Leading up to his since-healed torn pectoral, T.J. Watt was a menace to Burrow and was in his face almost every play. Inside, Cameron Heyward had his way with rookie guard Cordell Volson and the Bengals’ offensive line was never able to gain ground against the opposing front seven. Opposite of Watt, Alex Highsmith kicked off his quest for a double-digit season sack total by sacking Burrow 3 times.
Fast forward to this week, those three keys are still in-tact and back to being 100-percent. Although this may seem fairly obvious looking at the film from the last game, the fact remains true and constant. If the Steelers maintain pressure of the weaker Bengals’ offensive line and Burrow, they win the game. Again, the key to victory is to win in the trenches on both sides of the ball, and fortunately for the Steelers, they’ve been able to do so against the Bengals’ offensive front.
Steelers' T.J. Watt (#90) gets in the face of Andy Dalton of the New Orleans Saints in Pittsburgh, PA. | Credit: Jordan Schofield/SteelerNation (JSKO_PHOTO Twitter)
PREDICTION
Are we about to see our first win-streak of 2022? It has been quite some time since fans have seen back-to-back wins, but things are starting to take shape in the home team’s favor. Who cares if this game was flexed out of the Sunday Night Football primetime slot? There is something about AFC North football in the late afternoon along the North Shore that has me thinking the Steelers can pull off another win. Prediction, Steelers 20, Bengals 16.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I know we like to highlight the key offensive and defensive matchups, but don’t forget about special teams coordinator Danny Smith’s special teams unit. Special teams was the difference in the first game led by a massive blocked extra point at the hands of Fitzpatrick. Look for Smith’s squad to come out in a big way and looking to throw Evan McPherson and the visiting kicking unit off for a second time.
Finally, there are some promising numbers and trends to take note of heading into Sunday. First, the Steelers are 9-3-1 at home against teams who are coming off their bye week; the Bengals had their week off last week. Going back to 2002, the Steelers hold a 7-4 record against Cincinnati in the month of November. The last time Cincinnati won in Pittsburgh in the month of November was in 2015; the Steelers are 12-3 versus the Bengals since that game.
What are you watching for on Sunday? What do you think the final outcome will be? Let us know in the comments below!
#SteelerNation
