The Pittsburgh Steelers have a tall task tomorrow against a dynamic Cincinnati Bengals team. Despite being 4-7, their offense is one of the best in the league as they are averaging 27.0 points per game, good for sixth best in the NFL.
While Pittsburgh’s offense has improved since last year, averaging 22.9 points per game so far this season, there is a clear gulf between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati’s offenses. The Steelers defense will need to bring its A game tomorrow to slow down the Bengals, but their offense will also need to show up.
Dan Moore Jr. spoke with WMBS’ George Von Benko this week and discussed how the offense will need to help the defense slow down the Bengals.
“I think this week will also be a big time of possession week for us,” said Moore. “Obviously with their offense being so dynamic and being able to score so quickly with the weapons that they have and the explosiveness they have on that side of the ball, we kind of want to control the clock and give our defense some rest.”
The good news for Moore and the Steelers is that there is no better team at controlling time of possession than them. Pittsburgh leads the league in time of possession, holding the football on average 32:50 minutes a game. The Steelers dominated time of possession against the high flying Baltimore Ravens just two weeks ago, possessing the football for 36:22 while the Ravens had the ball for 22:38, helping Pittsburgh eke out an 18-16 victory.
The Steelers will likely need to score more points than 18 to beat the Bengals, but they certainly can follow a similar formula to the Ravens game and try to continuously possess the football. The less time the ball is in Joe Burrow’s hands the better.
If the Steelers can stick to their game plan, they’ll have a good chance at coming out victorious as they let their well-rested, defense fly around the field and make team plays to stop the Bengals from putting up points.
