Thursday night is the Bengals’ season. There’s no two ways around it.
If the Bengals win on Thursday night, they’d be 3-4 but 2-0 in the AFC North. All of a sudden, in a wide-open AFC, you can see a path where the Bengals can get back in the thick of the playoff picture. After the Steelers, the Bengals play the Jets and Bears at home, leading into their Week 10 bye. Getting to 5-4 sounds realistic.
However, a loss Thursday night, which would drop them to 2-5, would be the end of anything the Bengals were hoping to accomplish this season. They wouldn’t technically be out of it, but being 2-5 as opposed to 3-4 is a massive difference. Not to mention, a loss Thursday night would be a fifth straight defeat for the Bengals.
The season is, at least it feels like, on the line Thursday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Here goes nothing.
Quarterback: No. 8: Aaron Rodgers — 6-2, 223 lbs. 21st Season (California)
No secrets here. Aaron Rodgers is one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history and will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer when he retires. That very well could be after this season.
So far this season with the Steelers, through five games, Rodgers has 1,021 yards and 10 touchdowns against just three interceptions. Say what you want, but he’s putting up good numbers.
The MVP of Super Bowl XLV, a four-time AP MVP, a 10-time Pro Bowler, and a four-time All-Pro, Rodgers is 27 yards away from 64,000 passing yards in his career. He has 513 career touchdown passes against just 119 interceptions.
Four Players to Watch on the Steelers
1. No. 90: Edge Rusher, T.J. Watt — 6-4, 252 lbs. 9th Season (Wisconsin)
Again, no secrets here. T.J. Watt is one of the most fearsome pass rushers in the NFL. There’s a reason the Steelers gave him a massive contract extension back in July. Watt can singlehandedly win games by himself.
The 2021 Defensive Player of the Year, Watt, is a seven-time Pro Bowler, a four-time First-Team All-Pro, and has 111.5 sacks in his career. He has 3.5 sacks this season with five tackles for loss, nine quarterback hits, four passes defensed, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.
2. No. 97: Defensive Tackle, Cameron Heyward — 6-5, 295 lbs. 15th Season (Ohio State)
Heyward may go down as one of the most underrated defensive players of this generation and one of the most underrated Steelers players of all time. The seven-time Pro Bowler and four-time First-Team All-Pro, Heyward began his career playing alongside Troy Polumalu and James Harrison, and he’s now playing alongside T.J. Watt.
It’s easy to overlook Heyward in that sense, but he shouldn’t be overlooked in any way. His ability to stuff the middle and collapse the pocket is extraordinary. With the Bengals struggling in the running game, this can be a matchup nightmare for their interior offensive line.
3. No. 56: Linebacker, Alex Highsmith — 6-4, 242 lbs. 6th Season (Charlotte)
All of the focus will be on Watt and Heyward along the Steelers’ defensive front. The Bengals, though, cannot overlook Alex Highsmith.
He’s only three seasons removed from having 14.5 sacks, and he has 14.5 over the previous three seasons. Highsmith has 1.5 sacks in three games this season.
4. No. 4: Wide Receiver, DK Metcalf — 6-4, 229 lbs. 7th Season (Ole Miss)
A big-bodied wide receiver who can run like the wind, Metcalf could be a matchup problem for the Bengals’ secondary. Metcalf already has 356 receiving yards on 19 receptions, with four touchdowns. That’s an average of 18.7 yards per reception.
In his career, Metcalf has two Pro Bowls and three 1,000-yard seasons.
Head Coach: Mike Tomlin (19th season, 187-108-2) — 53 years old
Say what you want about Mike Tomlin. He can flat-out coach. There’s a reason he is one of the most successful head coaches in NFL history.
Super Bowl XLIII Champion, two Super Bowl berths, seven AFC North titles, 12 Postseason berths, and never finishing below .500; That’s a strong resume.
Tomlin is one of two active head coaches, the other being Andy Reid, to have 180 or more wins. He won his 180th game in his 284th game with the Steelers, the fifth-fewest games for any head coach in NFL history.
Before Sean McVay and the Rams beat the Bengals in Super Bowl LVI, Tomlin was the youngest head coach to win the Super Bowl.
Prior to Pittsburgh, Tomlin was the Minnesota Vikings’ defensive coordinator in 2006. That was after five seasons as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ defensive backs coach. The Buccaneers’ secondary picked off four passes and returned two for touchdowns in their 48-21 Super Bowl XXXVII win over the then-Oakland Raiders.
Tomlin was on the Cincinnati Bearcats’ coaching staff as the defensive backs coach from 1999-2000, during which the team ranked eighth in interceptions and fourth in turnovers in 2000.
As a player, Tomlin was a three-year starter at wide receiver at Williams & Mary.
Offensive Coordinator: Arthur Smith (2nd season) — 43 years old
The Steelers improved offensively in Smith’s first season in 2024, and they are improving as this season progresses. After a slow start, the Steelers have rushed for 100+ yards in each of their last two games and have eclipsed 300+ yards of total offense.
Smith’s first offensive coordinating job came with the Tennessee Titans in 2019 and 2020. Those Titans offenses were balanced and prolific. They were almost automatic in the red zone, elite in the running game, and opportunistic in the passing game. It helped that they had Derrick Henry at running back, who rushed for 2,027 yards in 2020.
Defensive Coordinator: Teryl Austin (4th season) — 60 years old
The Bengals’ defensive coordinator for nine games in 2018, Austin is now leading one of the NFL’s most formidable defenses.
In his three years as defensive coordinator (2022-24), the Steelers rank in the top-10 in the NFL in interceptions (t-1st, 53), interception rate (t-1st, 3.1%), takeaways (2nd, 83), the fewest first downs allowed/game (3rd, 18.6), opposing completion percentage (5th, 62.6%), scoring defense (5th, 19.9), red-zone efficiency (5th, 51.9%), opposing TD/INT ratio (5th, 1.4), forced fumbles (t-5th, 45), rush defense (7th, 107.3), opposer passer rating (8th, 86.4) and yards/rush (9th, 4.2).
Austin was the Steelers’ secondary coach from 2019 to 2021. He’s also been a secondary/defensive backs coach with the Seattle Seahawks, Arizona Cardinals, and Baltimore Ravens, including on the Ravens’ team that won Super Bowl XLVII in the 2012 season.
Prior to Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, Austin was the Detroit Lions’ defensive coordinator for four seasons from 2014 to 2017. Austin’s defensive units ranked in the Top-10 among all NFL teams in total yards per game allowed (340.3/10th), rushing yards per game allowed (100.3/8th), and the number of games in which opponents were held to 20 points or less (34/tied for 6th).
As a player, Austin was a three-year starter at safety at Pittsburgh in the mid-80s.
Special Teams Coordinator: Danny Smith (13th season) — 71 years old
One of the more animated coaches in the NFL, Smith and Chris Boswell have formed one of the great kicker/special teams coordinator duos in the NFL.
Smith has been a special teams coordinator in the NFL for each of the last 25 seasons, and this is his 29th season in this role. He’s been the special teams coordinator with Washington, the Buffalo Bills, and the Philadelphia Eagles.
In addition, Smith was the Lions’ tight ends coach for two seasons. He was on Georgia Tech’s coaching staff in 1990, when the team was named co-NCAA national champions.
Keys to the Game
1. Run the ball. Please.
Chase Brown found something throughout the game on Sunday, rushing for 42 yards on nine carries with a long of 13 yards. But 55 rushing yards is still not going to cut it. The Bengals have to find a way to run the ball on Thursday night against this Steelers’ defense.
2. Protect Joe Flacco
The Bengals actually did a good job in limiting sacks on Sunday at Green Bay, and that was with Micah Parsons on the other side of the ball. This week, they’ll be facing T.J. Watt and the Steelers’ pass rushers. Protecting Joe Flacco is paramount.
3. Special Teams
They’re always a key in division games. The Steelers have always been stout on special teams, especially with Chris Boswell being nearly automatic against the Bengals.
4. Win the turnover battle
The Bengals didn’t have any turnovers on Sunday against the Packers. That’s a positive sign, after having 11 over the previous four games. It’s clear that Joe Flacco is an upgrade at quarterback and can keep this team afloat.
Score Prediction: Bengals 24 – Steelers 21
Beating the Steelers will turn the Bengals’ season around. With the Bengals coming in on a four-game losing streak, they just need something to build off of while Joe Burrow works towards returning. That’s what beating the Steelers can do, especially at home and in prime time.
I’m going to inject some positivity into this fanbase by picking the Bengals to win on Thursday night. They can turn their whole season around with a win, and this city would finally have something to feel good about.
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