For the second time in a month — and the final time on the year — the Pittsburgh Steelers will battle the Cincinnati Bengals in a key AFC North matchup, this time on the North Shore of Pittsburgh at Acrisure Stadium.
The last time the two teams matched up, the Steelers had their best offensive performance of the season just days after firing offensive coordinator Matt Canada, leading to a 16-10 win in which the offense racked up 421 yards of total offense. The win moved the Steelers to 7-4 and dropped the Bengals to 5-6 on the season.
Since then though, it’s been an entirely different season for both teams.
The Bengals have gone on a run, winning three straight with backup quarterback Jake Browning. The Steelers, on the other hand, have cratered, dropping three straight games to fallout of the playoff picture while seemingly rotting from the inside out.
Good news though for the Steelers is that Saturday’s primetime matchup presents a real opportunity to right the ship. Pittsburgh always plays well in AFC North football, and they have already beaten the Bengals this season. It’ll be a tough task though, considering the way the Bengals are playing at the moment.
As always, it will come down to some key matchups. Below are my four key matchups to watch in Saturday’s Steelers-Bengals clash.
Steelers’ DT Cameron Heyward vs. Bengals’ LG Cordell Volson
Very same matchup to watch from Week 12, but this time things feel a bit different.
In recent matchups, Cameron Heyward has largely dominated Cordell Volson, welcoming him to the NFL as a rookie in the first week of the 2022 season, and then dominating him later that year. In the Week 12 matchup though, Volson held his own against Heyward, and that performance has been a springboard for him down the stretch.
He’s playing some good football right now and has earned praise from teammates and coaches in recent weeks. Including the Steelers’ matchup in Week 12, Volson has graded at 65.5 or higher in the last month, allowing just two total pressures while really coming on strong as a run blocker. He’s become a key piece of the Bengals’ offensive line and has really helped stabilize up front.
Heyward, on the other hand, has struggled. He had a great game against the New England Patriots with two sacks, but then had the worst-graded performance of his career last week against the Indianapolis Colts at 44.3. He looked a step slow and really run down against the Colts, which is concerning for the 34-year-old Heyward moving forward.
Steelers’ TE Pat Freiermuth vs. Bengals’ LBs Germaine Pratt and Logan Wilson
The last time Pat Freiermuth faced off against the Bengals, he had a career day, hauling in nine passes for 120 yards in the 16-10 win. He was fantastic over the middle of the field, taking advantage of an area of the field that the Steelers hadn’t utilized much to that point in the season.
Since that game though, Freiermuth has just nine receptions for 73 yards, a far cry from the performance he had against the Bengals. With Mason Rudolph now under center for the Steelers, now’s a good time to get back on track for the third-year tight end against some linebackers he had success against in Germaine Pratt and Logan Wilson.
Wilson has allowed 55 receptions for 595 yards and three touchdowns on the season and was charged with three receptions for 46 yards against the Steelers in the last meeting. Pratt has allowed 43 receptions for 434 yards and one touchdown on the season and was charged with three receptions for 46 yards as well.
Pittsburgh has seemingly gotten away from Freiermuth in the middle of the field in recent weeks, but with a new quarterback in Rudolph under center, they’d be wise to get the security blanket in Freiermuth involved early and often.
Steelers’ CB Joey Porter Jr. vs. Bengals’ WR Tee Higgins
In the last matchup, Joey Porter Jr. against Ja’Marr Chase was a matchup to watch. With Chase out this week due to a shoulder injury, the top matchup for the Steelers’ rookie to take on his Tee Higgins, who has come on strong in the last few weeks for the Bengals, catching some big passes from Jake Browning.
Higgins had four receptions for 61 yards and two touchdowns last week against the Vikings and is in line for more targets this week with Chase out. He’ll have a tough matchup against Porter, who is one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL this season, based on numbers.
Porter has allowed just 20 receptions for 283 yards and one touchdown on the season. He’s one of the best corners in the NFL in terms of allowing the lowest amount of separation in man and zone coverages, and he’s allowed just 0.8 yards of separation per route on the season, per Next Gen Stats, which is the best in the league.
He’s a physical corner that thrives in man and press coverage, and he’ll be going against a physical receiver that wins consistently at the catch point.
Get your popcorn ready!
Bengals’ RB Chase Brown vs. Steelers’ ILBs
Since getting more involved in the offense, rookie running back Chase Brown has really taken off in the last three weeks for the Bengals. He was a legitimate home run threat in college at Illinois, one that the Bengals were thrilled to land in the 2023 NFL Draft.
It just took a bit longer than expected to get him fully involved. Now that he is though, look out.
The rookie has provided a real spark to the Bengals in recent weeks, recording 61 rushing yards against the Jaguars, 105 total yards and a touchdown against the Colts and 51 total yards against the Vikings. He’s been a good change-of-pace guy behind Joe Nixon and is a really dangerous receiver, recording a 54-yard touchdown against the Colts.
He’ll get a favorable matchup Saturday against the Steelers and their depleted inside linebacker room. In recent weeks, Mykal Walker has really struggled in coverage as teams have utilized running backs out of the backfield leading to touchdowns. Guys like Ezekiel Elliott and Zack Moss have scored on receiving touchdowns in the last two weeks with Walker in coverage.
Chances are, he’ll see more playing time Saturday, too, which is something the Bengals could exploit with the explosive Brown. Along with Walker, Myles Jack — who is expected to be elevated to the Active/Inactive roster — could see playing time, too, which would be his first game action in the regular season since last season with Pittsburgh.
Not exactly a comforting matchup for the Steelers.
Based on how much the Bengals have called screens and quick throws to running backs in recent weeks, head coach Zac Taylor is undoubtedly going to try and exploit the Steelers’ inside linebackers in the passing game.
