For the third straight week, the Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves set for another AFC North battle, this time against the Cincinnati Bengals on the road at Paycor Stadium.
After beating the Baltimore Ravens in Week 11 and then dropping a frustrating game on a short week on Thursday Night Football to the Cleveland Browns, the Steelers are coming off of a nice mini-bye week that gave them a chance to regroup and recharge for another physical divisional matchup.
It’ll be a big test for the Steelers as Bengals’ QB Joe Burrow is playing some of the best football of his career, while wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase leads the league in receiving yards and touchdowns. Not to mention, Bengals’ pass rusher Trey Hendrickson leads the league in sacks.
There will be games within the game to watch, like the turnover battle, tackling battle and more. Make sure to keep an eye on key individual matchups, though. There are plenty of them this week from top to bottom in all three phases for the Steelers against the Bengals.
Below are my four key matchups to watch on Sunday.
STEELERS CB JOEY PORTER JR. VS. BENGALS WR JA’MARR CHASE
This is the matchup of the game for me, that being Steelers’ CB Joey Porter Jr. against Bengals’ WR Ja’Marr Chase. The last time these two matched up was in Week 12 of the 2023 season in Cincinnati, as Chase didn’t play in the Week 16 matchup last season.
In that Week 12 game, Porter held Chase to just two receptions for 36 yards on 24 routes run. Porter was aligned on Chase on 85% of routes run by the Bengals wide receiver, including press coverage on 41.7% of the snaps (10 total routes). That’s a pretty darn good day overall from the Steelers’ corner.
This time, though, Chase knows Porter’s style and has experience against him. Add in the fact that Chase is playing some of his best football as he leads the league in receiving yards and touchdowns and it makes for a marquee matchup. Porter has had some ups and downs this season and has struggled with penalties and some communication issues, but he remains a talented corner that can shut down one side of the field.
STEELERS OLB T.J. WATT VS. BENGALS RT AMARIUS MIMS
In recent weeks, T.J. Watt has been rather quiet. That’s in large part due to teams sliding protection his way, giving right tackles help with a chip from a tight end or running back, or a double team. That’s negated Watt for the most part, and it could be the case again Sunday against rookie right tackle Amarius Mims.
Mims has been solid so far in his career, but he’s fallen off a bit in the last two weeks, allowing 12 of his 25 pressures and one of his three sacks on the year. That bodes well for Watt, who needs a bounce-back game after being a no-show against the Cleveland Browns in Week 12.
Cincinnati will surely give Mims some help against Watt, but there will be one-on-one matchups he’ll see. He’ll need to win those when they come and get after Burrow as much as possible.
BENGALS DE TREY HENDRICKSON VS. STEELERS LT DAN MOORE JR.
Another key pass rusher/offensive lineman matchup to the list here, this time with Steelers’ LT Dan Moore Jr. against Bengals’ pass rusher Trey Hendrickson.
Moore is coming off of a tough showing against Cleveland’s Myles Garrett, as he was charged with two sacks and five pressures in the loss to the Browns. Of course, the Steelers didn’t have a good enough plan for Garrett, allowing him to wreck the game in the first half.
That performance by Garrett overshadowed what has been a strong season for Moore, who has allowed just 23 pressures on the season. However, he’s been charged with four of his six sacks allowed this season in the last two weeks, which happen to be AFC North matchups. He’ll have another one this week with Hendrickson, who leads the NFL in sacks with 11.5.
On top of those league-leading 11.5 sacks, Hendrickson has 55 pressures. The last time he played the Steelers in Week 16 last season, Hendrickson had five pressures and a sack, though Moore allowed just three pressures and no sacks in that matchup.
It’ll be a big matchup Sunday when the Steelers have the football.
BENGALS CB JOSH NEWTON VS. STEELERS WR MIKE WILLIAMS
Since hauling in the game-winning 32-yard touchdown pass in Week 10 against the Washington Commanders in his first game as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers, WR Mike Williams has done next to nothing for the Black and Gold in the two games since.
In 44 snaps during the last two games, Williams has just one target, which came on the failed Hail Mary in the loss to the Browns. He’s been non-existent in the passing game. That has to change this week, especially against a secondary that has struggled to keep a lid on things this season.
The Bengals have the 10th-worst pass defense in football, allowing 225.6 yards per game through the air. The Bengals are also 31st in the NFL in red zone defense, which could bode well for a Steelers’ offense that is 30th in the red zone and needs to find some answers there.
While CB Cam Taylor-Britt will likely see quite a bit of George Pickens, the Bengals could put rookie Josh Newton on Williams, which would be an advantage for the Steelers. Sunday could be the second game of Newton’s career in which he plays a majority of the snaps. He played 51 snaps against the Chargers in Week 11 and played well, allowing just three receptions on six targets for 47 yards.
Russell Wilson and the Steelers should go right after the rookie, though, even with Newton having some good reps on tape. Williams needs to get going, and the Steelers seemingly have a matchup advantage on paper.
