The Pittsburgh Steelers have quickly found themselves in a close divisional race. With the Baltimore Ravens one game behind, and the Cincinnati Bengals two behind, every divisional game is of utmost importance from here on out. That’s nothing new, but the Steelers must get revenge against the Bengals this Sunday, a team that beat them a few weeks ago.
CBS Sports’ John Breech thinks it will be a close game. In his predictions piece, posted Tuesday, he expects the Bengals to win by a score of 34-31. He also thinks Joe Flacco is due for another big game.
“As bad as the Bengals defense has been this year, the Steelers have arguably been worse, and that’s mostly because no one expected them to be bad… Through 10 weeks, the Steelers have given up the most passing yards per game in the NFL (269.4). To put that in perspective, the Bengals are only giving up 260.1,” Breech wrote. “This feels like a game where Flacco is going to go off again; the only question is whether the Bengals defense will be able to slow down the Steelers at all.”
One thing the Steelers do have going for them is the lackluster Bengals’ defense. It’s been so poor that it’s actually stirring things up in the Bengals’ locker room. In their last meeting, the Steelers were still in the game thanks to their offense, with Aaron Rodgers throwing four touchdowns on the day.
However, the Steelers lost because of their awful defensive play. Joe Flacco tore them apart, and he’s been playing at a high level since. Against the New York Jets, he threw for 223 yards and two touchdowns. Then he had one of his best games ever with 470 yards and four touchdowns against Chicago a week later, in a game they somehow lost.
The Steelers’ defense wasn’t awful against Los Angeles, but it had some frustrating lapses. This touchdown is a good example.
Brandin Echols plays thisterribly and gets his eyes caught in the backfield. But on his inside, Kyle Dugger also has a miscommunication. He follows the tight end into Patrick Queen’s zone, leaving Ladd McConkey wide open in the middle of the field. These types of miscommunications and bad execution have plagued the defense this season. They were a common occurrence in the last meeting with Cincinnati, which Flacco took advantage of.
Really, this is something of a do-or-die game for the Steelers. They can’t afford to lose. A loss puts the Bengals one game behind them. The Bengals would also own the tiebreaker via the two hypothetical wins they’d have over the Steelers. And in that scenario, if the Ravens win this week, they’d be tied with Pittsburgh. But to win, the Steelers need to look much better defensively than they did the last time they saw Joe Flacco.
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