The Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals have always had a rivalry that wasn’t the friendliest, dating back to T.J. Houshmandzadeh stomping on the Terrible Towel and LB Vontaze Burfict racking up fines for illegal hits against the Steelers. While the Steelers dominated against Cincinnati for most of the 2000s, the tide has turned a bit recently, with the Bengals sweeping Pittsburgh in 2021 and coming away as winners of four of the last seven matchups.
It’s a game that should be close despite Cincinnati coming into today’s matchup with the Steelers at 4-7 compared to Pittsburgh’s 8-3. Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick told ESPN’s Kimberly Martin that the “natural disdain” between the two teams adds intensity to the rivalry.
“Minkah also told me when it comes to AFC North rivalries, there’s something different about the Bengals. He said there’s definitely more intensity when we play them, and he said that’s because there’s a natural disdain between us and them,” Martin said on Sunday NFL Countdown.
While there’s some level of respect between the Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens despite being a fierce rivalry, that same level of mutual respect doesn’t exist between the Steelers and the Bengals. It’s never been the case, which is why Houshmandzadeh felt comfortable stomping on the Terrible Towel and why Tyler Boyd took shots at the Steelers and accused them of quitting after Cincinnati beat the Steelers in 2021.
The two sides don’t like or respect each other, so when they play, there’s a little extra fire on each side as they prepare to play each other. This matchup has a little extra juice behind it, with the Bengals looking to save their season and keep their playoff hopes alive essentially. At the same time, the Steelers need to rebound after a disappointing loss to the Cleveland Browns and look to continue to hold onto their AFC North lead.
A lot is riding on the line for both sides, and they don’t like each other, so tensions should be high early. Two weeks after the Ravens’ game was tension-fueled with scrums and skirmishes breaking out throughout, it wouldn’t be a surprise if that happened again today at Paycor Stadium against the Bengals.
It’s a hostile environment for the Steelers, and they’ll have to make sure they aren’t bothered by what should be a raucous Cincinnati crowd and just focus on playing good football and getting a win over a team they aren’t very fond of.
