The Cincinnati Bengals may be 4-7, but they’re going to present a big challenge for the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday. They might have more firepower than any other offense the Steelers have played against this season. Joe Burrow is one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks. Wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase has been unbelievable with Tee Higgins being one of the best No. 2 receivers in the league. For those reasons, ESPN analyst Field Yates believes the Bengals can win this game if they play their brand of football.
“If you can find a way to play this game more on your terms as the Bengals, you got a really good chance,” Yates said Friday on Bengals Weekly via the team’s website. “I don’t think Pittsburgh is the kind of team that is built to run a race offensively. They want to find a way to grind things out, almost a first-to-20 type of game.”
Nothing Yates said is really wrong. The Steelers haven’t tried to hide who they are offensively. This offseason, they made moves to be a run-first team that controls the clock and limits turnovers.
For the most part, that strategy has won them games. It was more apparent during the earlier portions of the season, and they haven’t really strayed from that philosophy. For better or worse, they are committed to grinding out games, wanting to impose their will on opponents.
That is a stark contrast to the Bengals’ style on offense. They’re a high-flying bunch, throwing the ball to their litany of playmakers. They even traded Pro Bowl running back Joe Mixon this offseason, showing that they want to beat teams through the air.
They haven’t won a lot of games, but the Bengals can put up points. Most of their games have been in shootouts, although the Bengals have lost more games than they’ve won. Still, the Steelers aren’t built to allow the Bengals to dictate the pace of this matchup. Although the Steelers can create explosive plays, they probably can’t do it as frequently as the Bengals.
Luckily, the Bengals’ defense hasn’t been solid this year. That should allow the Steelers to stick to their game plan, for the most part. However, Yates is likely correct the Steelers will struggle to keep up if it turns into a high-scoring game.
