The last time the Pittsburgh Steelers faced the Cincinnati Bengals, they had an ugly defensive performance. The unit allowed the Bengals to both run and throw all over them, and they suffered a demoralizing loss after starting the year 4-1.
That started a slide for the Steelers. They’ve now lost three of their last four, with that Thursday night game being the catalyst. Now, they get a chance at revenge, hosting Cincinnati this week. Former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is expecting the Steelers to look much better against Joe Flacco and the Bengals than they did the first time around.
“There’s a four-and-a-half percent chance that Joe Flacco goes out there and does what he did last week to us. It’s not going to happen at Acrisure; it won’t happen here. Our D-line’s gonna jump the count, we’re gonna be all over it. There’s gonna be some turnovers this week; defense is gonna get turnovers. It will not happen this week. I have a W on here, I’m sticking with it,” Roethlisberger said Tuesday on his Footbahlin podcast. “We might win by 15-plus.”
It’s certainly a take from Roethlisberger, considering how talented this Bengals’ offense is. Flacco especially. He’s coming off a 470-yard game in which he threw four touchdown passes against Chicago. He’s played well in each of his four starts with the Bengals. It definitely helps that Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins are catching his passes.
However, the Steelers’ defense deserves some credit for the way it has rebounded in recent weeks. There are still issues, but things have somewhat improved. The defense looked great against a historically performing Indianapolis offense. And although the Steelers lost to the Chargers last week, the defense was the only reason the Steelers were even in the game.
However, winning by 15 points means the offense must score that much. It certainly did not do well against Los Angeles. They only had three points until the Chargers played prevent defense with a big lead. Additionally, that field goal didn’t come from a sustained drive, but rather from a shanked punt.
The good news is the Bengals’ defense is incredibly bad. In the aforementioned game where Flacco threw for 470 yards, the Bengals still lost because their defense surrendered 47 points. Although the Steelers’ offense has been suspect in recent weeks, its last great outing came against this very defense.
The Steelers aren’t a stranger to rebound wins after ugly losses. Take the win over the Colts a couple of weeks ago as an example. This is an important one, and Roethlisberger thinks the Steelers will have another trick up their sleeve against the Bengals this week.
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