While they just beat the Cleveland Browns, the Pittsburgh Steelers are in for a quick turnaround this week. They’re set to travel to play the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday. Going into this season, the Bengals looked like they might compete for a playoff spot. However, in Week 2, he suffered an injury that has put him out for most of the year. That makes this look like a more winnable game for the Steelers, but former Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson has a lot of confidence in Cincinnati.
“We gonna win that game,” Johnson said recently on his Nightcap podcast. “We definitely gonna win this game. A division rival, Steelers coming in Thursday night, crowd going crazy. It’s gonna be about 40 degrees.”
Currently, the Bengals are in a rough place. Their offense and defense are both ranked 31st in the NFL. Without Burrow, they look totally lost. Now, they could also be without star pass rusher Trey Hendrickson against the Steelers because of an injury he suffered in Week 6. Despite Johnson’s confidence, the Bengals look like underdogs in this game.
However, the Steelers aren’t guaranteed a win this week. History isn’t on their side. Since Mike Tomlin became their head coach in 2007, the Steelers are 2-9 on the road when playing on Thursday night. On short weeks, the Steelers have looked ugly.
Last year, they were in a similar situation, going on the road to play a floundering Browns team on Thursday. Entering that game, the Steelers were 8-2 and the Browns were 2-8. It looked like the Steelers should’ve steamrolled the Browns, but that didn’t happen. They disappointed, falling flat on their faces to lose 24-19.
Perhaps the Bengals could similarly upset the Steelers. They’ve made a change at quarterback recently, trading for Joe Flacco. While he lost his first start with the Bengals in Week 6, Johnson was still impressed with the veteran quarterback’s performance.
“I just saw my guy have a 17-play drive down the field after halftime, and he only been there for 17 minutes,” Johnson said. “He been on our team for 17 minutes, and he took our team down the field.”
Flacco was fine in his first action with the Bengals, throwing for 219 yards and two touchdowns. Johnson is correct that, to start the second half, Flacco led the Bengals on a 17-play drive that ended in a touchdown. It was an impressive showing that nearly gave the Bengals life in that game.
Therefore, the Steelers could be in for a brawl this week. AFC North matchups tend to be physical. The Steelers handled business against the Browns, and to continue building their lead in the division, they should do similar things this week. Stacking wins against AFC North opponents is important. The Steelers shouldn’t underestimate the Bengals.
