Didn’t this season just start?? It’s hard to believe but we’ve reached the final week of the regular season and there’s a lot on the line. Here’s everything you need to know about the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers for Week 18.
What: Cincinnati Bengals 8-8 at Pittsburgh Steelers 10-6
Where: Acrisure Stadium Pittsburgh, PA
When: Saturday January 4th 2025 8pmET
Weather: 22 degrees and snow showers at kickoff. Winds to 10mph
Surface: Natural Grass
Wagering Information: Bengals -1.5 O/U 48.5
Last Week: The Bengals defeated the Broncos 30-24 in overtime while the Steelers dropped their third straight game losing 29-10 to the Chiefs in Pittsburgh.
TV: ESPN Joe Buck (play-by-play), Troy Aikman (analysis), Lisa Salter (field reporter)
TV Coverage in Your Area (courtesy 506sports.com): National TV Audience
Radio: Steelers Nation Radio/WDVE Rob King (play-by-play), Craig Wolfley (analysis). Max Starks (field reporter)
Westwood One Radio: Ted Emrich (play-by-play), Ryan Harris (analysis)
Head Official: John Hussey. He runs a non-profit and graduated from Idaho State. The last time he called a Steelers’ game was November of 2023 when they defeated the Titans 20-16. There were 17 accepted penalties that day. His crew has had 153 accepted penalties this year which is the lowest among all the officiating crews.
Key Injuries/Game Status (courtesy steelers.com) PIT: * No. 10 WR Roman Wilson (Hamstring) – Out, No. 26 CB Donte Jackson (Back) – Questionable, ** No. 55 LB Cole Holcomb (Knee) – Out, * No. 61 DT Logan Lee (Calf) – Out CIN: No. 30 RB Chase Brown (Ankle) – Questionable, No. 5 WR Tee Higgins (Ankle/Knee) – Questionable, No. 94 DE Sam Hubbard (Knee) – Out, No. 15 WR Charlie Jones (Groin) – Questionable, No. 71 DT Amarius Mims (Ankle/Hand) – Questionable, No. 89 TE Drew Sample (Groin) – Questionable
No. 29 CB Cam Taylor-Britt (Ankle) – Questionable
**In 21-day window to return from IR
*In 21-day window to return from PUP List
Injury Notes: With the exception of Jackson the Steelers are incredibly healthy. The other three guys on the list have seen little to no time all season anyway. The Bengals are like all of us. Questionable on a daily basis.
2024 NFL Ranks:
Total Offense: PIT 14th CIN 6th
Passing Offense: PIT 25th CIN 1st
Rushing Offense: PIT 10th CIN 29th
Total Defense: PIT 7th CIN 29th
Passing Defense: PIT 23rd CIN 24th
Rushing Defense: PIT 7th CIN 21st
AFC North Standings:
Baltimore 11-5
Pittsburgh 10-6
Cincinnati 8-8
Cleveland 3-13
This Week in the AFC North: Cleveland at Baltimore 430pmET (SAT)
What You Need to Know: The Steelers are 46-41 in season finales… They are 22-5 in home finales… Pittsburgh has won three-straight regular season finales… Pittsburgh is 4-0 all-time in season finales against the Bengals including 3-0 at home… Since 1970, the Steelers are 100-70 all-time in primetime games… They are 56-19 in primetime home games since 1970 as well… The Steelers are 4-6 when they trail at halftime.
Tomlin Time: Coach Tomlin remains tied with Tom Landry for eighth in total victories (183) by a head coach since 1970… Coach T is 73-33-1 all-time against the AFC North… 2009 was the only time that Tomlin finished below .500 against the AFC North (2-4)…
Cincinnati Bengals Names to Know: QB Joe Burrow, WR Tee Higgins, WR Ja’Marr Chase, TE Mike Gesicki, DE Trey Hendrickson, WR Andrei Iosivas, CB Cam Taylor-Britt, S Geno Stone, LB Germaine Pratt
What’s at Stake: A Cincinnati win coupled with losses by Denver and Miami will get the Bengals into the playoffs. A Pittsburgh win coupled with a Baltimore loss gives the Steelers the three seed and a home playoff game. A win and a BAL win sends the Steelers to Houston while a PIT loss likely sends them to BAL.
All-Time Series: Steelers lead 71-39 and lead all-time in Pittsburgh 36-18
Last Meeting: December 1st in Cincinnati. Steelers 44 Bengals 38
Postseason History: Steelers lead 2-0
Steelers Game Highs vs CIN:
PASSING: 414 yards Russell Wilson 12/01/2024
RUSHING: 185 yards Le’Veon Bell 12/07/2014
RECEIVING: 195 yards George Pickens 12/23/2023
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. Stop the Mistakes (Part 2). I left this here from last week simply because the Steelers didn’t adhere to it. The three straight losses have been filled with turnovers, missed assignments and penalties. Against an offense like the Bengals’ the mistakes just cannot afford to have miscommunication. Offensively, the turnovers among other things have to be eliminated heading into the postseason.
2. Keep an Eye on the Edges. Dan Moore and Broderick Jones have struggled big time in pass protection in recent weeks. The Bengals will be without Sam Hubbard but still have to deal with Trey Hendrickson. T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith must pressure Joe Burrow and keep him in the pocket. Watt has had success in stripping the ball from Burrow in the past and that has to continue. Whichever team does a better job on the edges will have a huge advantage in the outcome.
3. Let the Offense Be the Defense. The best way to slow down a prolific offense is to keep it on the bench. I want to see the Steelers come out and establish the run and use high percentage throws off play-action. Easier said than done I know, but go back and look at when the Steelers were being successful this year. A lot of it had to do with resting the defense and maintaining possession of the ball. Joe Burrow can’t hurt you if he’s looking at his Microsoft Surface.
The ‘X’ Factor: Each week I will select a player from each team who I believe will need to play above and beyond in order for his team to win.
X-Factor Steelers: Chris Boswell. In a perfect world, the only time we’d see Bos on Saturday night would be for a bunch of PATs and kickoffs. With the cold temps and possible snow, the puts a larger emphasis on him when called upon. He knows the winds and conditions at Acrisure better than anyone so he may need that experience this weekend.
X-Factor Bengals: Whoever is at Running Back. Chase Brown has a bad ankle which could limit him. Khalil Herbert, who the Bengals acquired earlier in the season, would see the bulk of the carries if Brown can’t go. Their ability to run the ball is crucial but even more importantly is their ability to pick up pass rushers. The Steelers don’t blitz a lot and that helps if you’re a running back but if their chips and straight-up pass blocks aren’t effective then the Steelers could eat.
Prediction: I really don’t like where the Steelers are right now. The good news is that they’ve had a lot of time to dwell on the three-game losing streak while the bad news is that they’ve had a lot of time to dwell on the three-game losing streak. In other words, I honestly don’t know what to expect from this group. The Bengals are hot and while they need help to get into the postseason, they’d like nothing better than to go with a win over Pittsburgh either way. I keep coming back to a lot of trends that favor the Steelers and I just have a feeling they get it right this week.
Steelers 23 Bengals 20
Season Prediction Record: 10-6
