When the Cincinnati Bengals roll into Pittsburgh for the latest bout with the Steelers on Sunday, there will be a different tone hanging in the air.
This time, it’ll be the Steelers hoping to play the scrappy underdog and the Bengals hoping to put an exclamation point on a start to the season.
Joe Burrow’s Bengals want a 3-0 start and to prove the first couple of weeks weren't just early-season flukes. Dexter Lawrence’s defense taking down Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers at home would be a pretty good way to do that.
Here’s a few players and storylines that will dictate whether that happens.
Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins vs…Joey Porter Jr.?
Joey Porter Jr., embroiled in a contract spat with the Steelers, seemed more than happy to give Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins a little extra bulletin-board material
this week.
Not that they needed it. Higgins has been steady through two games and Chase erupted last week after a quiet opener. When on the field, Porter, like most defensive backs, struggles with him. Chase had 687 yards and six scores in eight games against the Steelers. Higgins has 856 and six over 10 games. Porter would make life more difficult, but the Bengals wideouts are more than capable of controlling the game.
Orlando Brown and TJ Watt
There’s been some buzz this week on the topic to the point Joe Burrow defended Orlando Brown publicly. But the truth is, Brown was always projected to struggle with the front seven of the Houston Texans. Most do.
Another truth? Brown is likely to struggle with TJ Watt, too. Watt lines up on either side of the line, and at this point, he might avoid breakout Amarius Mims. The key will be scheme helping Brown when necessary to keep Burrow upright.
Dexter Lawrence’s front seven
The Bengals happen to have a front seven that scares opponents now, just like Houston. Dexter Lawrence is the biggest part of it. But it sure helps that Boye Mafe is breaking out as expected so far and even rotational guys like Cedric Johnson are succeeding at high efficiency rates.
That’s bad news for the Steelers. They had Aaron Rodgers suffer four sacks last week in a disaster. They’re probably going to start a rookie at one tackle spot and have lost at least one starter to injury elsewhere on the line. They’ll try to scheme around it with quick-hitters, so it will be another interesting test for this new Bengals defense.
Chase Brown
Don’t forget about the running back.
Chase Brown only has 136 yards and a score on a 3.8 average right now. The possible big breakout has yet to take shape. But why not Week 3? Small sample size, but Brown has averaged 6.8 yards per carry against the Steelers over three starts. With the concern about Watt, batted passes at the line of scrimmage and a loud crowd, this could be one of those older-school AFC North run-heavy games where Brown feasts.
This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Bengals vs. Steelers key players, storylines for Week 3
