We have reached Week 16 of the 2023 National Football League season and our Pittsburgh Steelers entertain the Cincinnati Bengals in their home finale. Here’s everything you need to know for the game.
What: Cincinnati Bengals 8-6 at Pittsburgh Steelers 7-7
Where: Acrisure Stadium Pittsburgh, PA
When: Saturday December 23rd, 2023 430pmET
Weather: Cloudy 47 degrees with light winds to 6 mph.
Wagering Information: Bengals -2.5 O/U 38
Last Week: Cincinnati needed a late field goal to knock off the Minnesota Vikings 27-24 while the Steelers gave up 30 unanswered points in losing to the Colts 30-13.
TV: NBC/Peacock Noah Eagle (play-by-play), Todd Blackledge (analysis), Kathryn Tappen (field reporter)
TV Coverage in Your Area: It’s the only game in town!
Radio: Steelers Nation Radio/WDVE Bill Hillgrove (play-by-play), Craig Wolfley (analysis), Missi Matthews (sideline),
Max Starks (sideline)
Westwood One Radio: Mike Watts (play-by-play), Mike Mayock (analysis)
Head Official: Craig Wrolstad. An Athletic Director from the University of Washington, Wrolstad is in his 10th year as a head official. Earlier this year he called the Steelers’ controversial win at the LA Rams. His crew called 13 accepted penalties that day but their horrible spot on a Kenny Pickett QB sneak gave the Steelers a first down and the win.
Key Injuries/Game Status (courtesy steelers.com) PIT: No. 8 QB Kenny Pickett (Ankle) – Out, No. 17 S Trenton Thompson (Neck) – Out, No. 37 S Elijah Riley** (Ankle) – Questionable, No. 39 S Minkah Fitzpatrick (Knee) – Out CIN: No. 1 WR Ja’Marr Chase (Shoulder) – Out
Injury Notes: You will literally need a program to keep track of who is in the secondary for the Steelers. It’s THAT bad… While Chase being out certainly helps, the Steelers cannot afford to sleep on the rest of the Bengals’ receivers one bit.
2023 NFL Ranks:
Total Offense: PIT 28th CIN 14th Passing Offense: PIT 28th CIN 13th Rushing Offense: PIT 16th CIN 31st
Total Defense: PIT 10th CIN 20th Passing Defense: PIT 20th CIN 27th Rushing Defense: PIT 22nd CIN 28th
AFC North Rankings: Baltimore 11-3, Cleveland 9-5, Cincinnati 8-6, Pittsburgh 7-7
This Week in the AFC North: Cleveland at Houston 1pmET SUN, Baltimore at San Francisco 815pmET MON
What You Need to Know: Mike Tomlin is 26-9 all-time against the Bengals… The Steelers have not finished below the Browns in the Division since 1989… Pittsburgh is 1-6 this season when they surrender 20 or more points… The Steelers are 4-0 this season when they have a receiver go over 100 yards receiving… The Steelers are 36-29 all-time in Saturday games and are 25-9 at home in such games… Since 1940, no team has played more Saturday games (60) than have the Steelers… Pittsburgh is 42-12 in home finales since 1970 and they’re 4-3 against the Bengals in such games… Mike Tomlin is 15-2 in home finales… Pittsburgh is 7-2 under Mike Tomlin in games following a three-game losing streak.
Cincinnati Bengals Names to Know: QB Jake Browning, RB Joe Mixon, WR Tee Higgins, WR Tyler Boyd, DE Trey Hendrickson, DE Sam Hubbard, OT Orlando Brown, Jr, S Dax Hill, CB Mike Hilton, TE Tanner Hudson, WR Trenton Irwin
What’s at Stake: Literally everything. A loss will all but knock the Steelers out of the postseason race while a win keeps them firmly alive with two games on the road remaining. Cincy is trying to keep pace with Cleveland in the division and plays the Browns in the season finale. Jockeying for a playoff spot is most important now however.
All-Time Series: Steelers lead 69-39 and lead all-time in Pittsburgh 35-18
Last Meeting: November 2023 in Cincinnati. Steelers 16 Bengals 10
Postseason History: Steelers lead 2-0
Steelers Game Highs vs CIN: PASSING: 386 yards Ben Roethlisberger 12/04/2005 RUSHING: 185 yards Le’Veon Bell 12/07/2014 RECEIVING: 192 yards Lynn Swann 12/02/1979 SACKS: 4.5 Chad Brown 10/13/1996 Interceptions: 3 Mike Wagner 10/28/1973
Check out the latest Steel City Blitz Steelers Podcast for more on the Steelers.
Three Things We Need to See for a Steelers’ Victory:
1. Run Like You’ve Never Run Before. The Steelers have slowly crept up the board in terms of rushing yards per game this season and now they need to rely on that aspect of their game even more. With questionable QB play and a Bengals’ defense that ranks near the bottom against the run, Jaylen Warren and Najee Harris must have highly productive games. They have to get in behind the offensive line and create big chunks of yardage to keep the sticks moving and to keep the Cincy offense off the field. With a banged up secondary and ILB corps, the running game needs to be the defense’s best friend.
2. Bring It Teryl. Steelers Defensive Coordinator Teryl Austin has been reluctant to do much blitzing this year and with a patchwork secondary he may be even more likely to play it safe this week. To that I say boulderdash! If you can’t get home with a four man rush then you HAVE to bring some heat. What do you have to lose at this point especially if the Steelers get behind? I realize I’m probably yelling at clouds here but he needs to get some help for T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith. Maybe utilize three OLBs by adding Nick Herbig to the mix. Regardless, they have to force pressure to keep the pressure off the DBs.
3. Cohesiveness. Mike Tomlin’s team has lost three straight games. Two of those came at home to teams with two wins each. The locker room is fractured. The starting QB may or may not be available. His biggest ‘big play’ threat is pouting, lazy and making excuses. If ever there was a game that was going to truly demonstrate whether or not Tomlin “has this team” or not then this is it. If they play with emotion, enthusiasm and effort they have a chance. All in or all out. Time to decide.
Prediction: There really are a lot of historical trends that suggest the Steelers will win this game. Unfortunately, the present situation doesn’t mean a damn thing to history. The Steelers are a mess. The offense is as inept as any unit in the NFL and now turns to Mason Rudolph to keep the team’s season alive. Don’t be surprised if Rudy plays well but I don’t think he plays well enough and I think our banged up defense is in big trouble even with Ja’Marr Chase out. I REALLY hope I’m wrong but…
Bengals 33 Steelers 17
Season Prediction Record: 6-8
