Week 13 is here and the stakes continue to get higher. This week, the Pittsburgh Steelers travel to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals in an important AFC North contest. Here’s everything you need to know.
What: Pittsburgh Steelers 8-3 at Cincinnati Bengals 4-7
Where: Paycor Stadium Cincinnati, OH
When: Sunday December 1st, 2024
Weather: 31 degrees with snow showers and winds at 9mph
Surface: Field Turf
Wagering Information: Bengals -2.5 O/U 48
Last Week: The Bengals enjoyed their BYE week while the Steelers dropped a 24-19 contest in Cleveland.
TV: CBS Ian Eagle (play-by-play), Charles Davis (analysis), Evan Washburn (field reporter)
TV Coverage in Your Area (courtesy 506sports.com): Steelers coverage is in RED.
Radio: Steelers Nation Radio/WDVE Rob King (play-by-play), Craig Wolfley (analysis)
Max Starks (field reporter)
Head Official: Shawn Hochuli. A financial advisor from Claremont University, Hochuli is in his seventh season as a head referee. He and his crew called the Dallas game earlier this season in which 19 accepted penalties were called. His crew has largely followed that script for most of the season so expect plenty of yellow hankies.
Key Injuries/Game Status (courtesy steelers.com) PIT: No. 27 CB Cory Trice Jr. (Hamstring) – Out, No. 56 LB Alex Highsmith (Ankle) – Doubtful, No. 57 DT Montravius Adams (Knee) – Out CIN: No. 75 OT Orlando Brown Jr. (Fibula) – Questionable
No. 15 WR Charlie Jones (Groin) – Doubtful, No. 98 DT Sheldon Rankins (Illness) – Questionable, No. 55 LB Logan Wilson (Knee) – Out
Injury Notes: Wilson being out for the Bengals is pretty big. He has continually improved and is a top tier inside linebacker. That should open up some things in the running game and for the tight ends as well… My understanding is that Highsmith is close to a return but they aren’t rushing things.
2024 NFL Ranks:
Total Offense: PIT 15th CIN 6th
Passing Offense: PIT 26th CIN 2nd
Rushing Offense: PIT 8th CIN 27th
Total Defense: PIT 3rd CIN 28th
Passing Defense: PIT 16th CIN 27th
Rushing Defense: PIT 4th CIN 20th
AFC North Standings:
Pittsburgh 8-3
Baltimore 8-4
Cincinnati 4-7
Cleveland 3-8
This Week in the AFC North: Philadelphia at Baltimore 425pmET, Cleveland at Denver (MON) 815pmET
What You Need to Know: The Steelers are 18-9 all-time on nine days rest… Dating back to 2014, they are 9-1 in their last ten… They are 7-3 in road games following the nine-day layoff… The Steelers have intercepted Joe Burrow eight times in the last four games… T.J. Watt ranks among the top 10 active players in strip sacks (2nd), forced fumbles
(2nd), QB hits (4th), fumble recoveries (4th), sacks (5th) and TFL (9th)…
Tomlin Time: Mike Tomlin is 25-9 all-time against the Bengals. Zac Taylor is 4-6 against the Steelers in his career… Coach T has won the AFC North seven times… Tomlin is 38-13 in AFC North games from Week 12 through the end of the season.
Cincinnati Bengals Names to Know: QB Joe Burrow, WR Tee Higgins, WR Ja’Marr Chase, TE Mike Gesicki, DE Sam Hubbard, S Geno Stone, LB Logan Wilson, K Evan McPherson, RB Chase Brown, LB Germaine Pratt
What’s at Stake: The Bengals are fighting for playoff survival. Another loss greatly cripples their chances at making the postseason. The Steelers are looking to rebound from a frustrating loss in Cleveland.
All-Time Series: Steelers lead 70-39 and lead 34-20 in Cincinnati.
Last Meeting: December 2023 in Pittsburgh. Steelers 34 Bengals 11
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: 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. Red Zone Success. We all love Chris Boswell but in all seriousness, we’d like to see him kicking more PATs rather than field goals. In order for this to happen Arthur Smith has to be better and so do the players. We often dwell too much on play-calling, design or lack of execution and the truth is, all of these things have been accurate for the Steelers’ struggles. Play-action on first down would be good. So too would be using rub-routes in an effort to get receivers more open. But at the end of the day, the players have to perform.
2. Put a Lid On It. The Steelers face the challenge of having to keep Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and company from getting behind them. Sounds easy right? It isn’t and just ask the teams the Bengals have played. As good as Minkah Fitzpatrick can be at making up ground in a hurry and covering for other guys, this challenge will be the biggest one he and the secondary have faced. While the Steelers have intercepted Joe Burrow a lot, he’s also 4-1 in games he starts and finishes against the Black and Gold. Bottom line? Get pressure on Burrow and keep everything in front of you.
3. Serve and Protect. The offensive line needs a bounce-back performance on Sunday. The best way to achieve this is to get the ground game going early. The Bengals’ defense is suspect in many areas and giving them any sense of confidence is a bad idea. At the end of the day however, the pass protection has to be better. Dan Moore has been pretty good this season but struggled with Myles Garrett. He has to rebound as does the entire O-Line. I’d be remiss if I didn’t say… SEE BELOW
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: Russell Wilson. Yup, super easy to pick the QB but he has to play better. For starters, he has to get the ball out earlier. You know the stats, he has tremendous success when the ball is out in under three seconds. If he holds it longer than that, the completion percentage drops significantly. So yes, the O-Line has to be better but so too does Russell Wilson.
X-Factor Bengals: Andrei Iosivas. The Bengals have Chase and Higgins and Gesicki but Iosivas is the guy that worries me. He’s that third or fourth receiver that historically gives the Steelers fits. He’s got 38 receptions and four TDs this season and if he becomes a factor the Steelers are in trouble.
Prediction: A few weeks ago, the high-flying Ravens came to Pittsburgh and most experts believed it would be a high-scoring affair. It of course ended with an 18-16 Steelers’ win. Here we are this week and again, many are expecting a lot of points. Through this point in the season, Cincy has played in the highest scoring games of anyone. Much like Cleveland played it’s “Super Bowl” last week against us, we are facing a similar foe this Sunday. The Bengals can’t afford another loss if they expect to make the playoffs. At the end of the day, I just don’t trust our offense or defense enough to pull this one out.
Bengals 27 Steelers 20
Season Prediction Record: 6-5
