It is another meeting of the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers. We know how nasty this rivalry has been in the past, as these two teams truly cannot stand each other.
The Bengals are strolling into Pittsburgh at 2-0 basically on the strength of their defense. In the first game, they created four turnovers, and last week they forced the Houston Texans to throw the ball 55 times because they literally could not run the ball against this defensive front. So to think this offense with Joe Burrow
at the helm has another level to it should scare the heck out of this Pittsburgh team.
The Steelers barely beat an Atlanta Falcons team in Week 1 that’s probably going to finish as one of the worst teams this year based on how terrible their quarterback situation is. Then, in Week 2, the New England Patriots absolutely slapped the Steelers silly after being embarrassed in Week 1 by the Seattle Seahawks.
This team has some good players, but they have yet to really mesh through two weeks under new head coach Mike McCarthy. And it feels like with Aaron Rodgers already calling out the coaching staff, the wheels could come off sooner rather than later.
But this is a rivalry game, so nothing is off the table. If the Bengals offense can’t find more rhythm this week, it could be a long day in the Steel City. After all, the Texans defense just gave this offense fits for much of the game, largely because of the pass rush.
Entering Week 3, the Steelers actually have Pro Football Focus’ top-ranked pass-rushing grade (Houston is eighth).
How to Watch Bengals vs. Steelers
- Date/Time: September 27th at 1:00 pm ET
- Location: Pittsburgh, PA at Acrisure Stadium
- TV Channel: CBS
- Broadcasters: Play-by-Play Ian Eagle, analyst Ross Tucker, and sideline reporter Evan Washburn
- Online Stream: Paramount+ (in market), NFL+ (in market), NFL Sunday Ticket (out of market), and NFL Game Pass International (International, excluding China)
- Radio Broadcast: Bengals Radio Network: Cincinnati flagship stations WCKY (1530), WEBN-FM (102.7), and WLW700. Click here to view full radio coverage, SiriusXM Ch. 265, Bengals-Steelers game center nationwide on desktop, in-market on official Bengals mobile app.
- SB Nation Steelers’ site: Behind the Steel Curtain
- Rosters: CIN | PIT
- Series Leader: Pittsburgh leads the series, 72-41. That includes the Steelers winning four of the last six.
- Weather: According to NFL Weather, the game will be in the high 60’s and partly cloudy.
- Odds: FanDuel Sportsbook has the Bengals as 3.5-point favorites, with an over/under of 42.5 points.
Predictions
- ESPN: Eight of eight experts (at the time of writing) are taking Cincinnati
- CBS Sports: Five of the five experts (at the time of writing) are going with the Bengals
- Sporting News: Bengals win 24-17 and cover the spread
Cincy Jungle prediction: AFC North games have a certain mystique. We have seen it when the Bengals have had down years that these games can be closer than expected. The Steelers pass rush is still formidable, and that could keep things close, but Burrow and this offense have been scoring against this defense as of late. The likely turning point will be this defense finally getting to Rodgers after barely getting near him the last few times these teams have met.
Final Score: Bengals 30, Steelers 16
