PITTSBURGH _ A pair of Bengals' sixth-round picks who have barely played this year have potentially big roles here in Sunday's game of the year at Acrisure Stadium when second-year edge Cedric Johnson and rookie running back Tahj Brooks get the call against the AFC North-leading Steelers.
Johnson has played 16 snaps this season, all in the last game when he came back from a calf injury that wiped out his entire season in the first week of training camp. Dating back to the last two games of last season, Johnson, a 2024 sixth-round pick from Ole Miss, has been active off the edge. Two weeks ago against the Bears in his season debut, he had three pressures on 12 rushes.
With NFL sack champion Trey Hendrickson (hip/pelvis) and rookie rusher Shemar Stewart (knee) shelved Sunday, Johnson could approach his career high of 24 snaps.
Brooks, this year's sixth-rounder from Texas Tech, has six carries this season on 13 plays, five runs coming eight weeks ago in the Minnesota loss. But Brooks' biggest responsibility without Samaje Perine (ankle) looks to be pass protection against the always marauding Steelers. They got to Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco for three sacks and six hits last month. But that's not what they usually do to people. The Steelers are tied for first with 40 quarterback hits and are tied for second with 32 sacks.
"There's a lot there as a rookie to learn offensively for us," Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said of Brooks last week. "I think he's picked it up as well as anybody could have hoped. It's just now it's about opportunity and showcasing what you can do. But from a trust standpoint, he's done that for us.
"And so now it's just when he gets his opportunities, if he gets his opportunities, making the most of them. But excited for the progress that he's continued to make."
Slants and Screens
Kendall Milton got the call from the practice squad to back up Brooks and Chase Brown in his season debut. He had his first six NFL snaps in two games last season …
With Perine and Hendrickson out and Stewart on injured reserve, Sunday's inactive list held no surprises. Joining Perine and Hendrickson on the list were wide receiver Jermaine Burton (illness), cornerback Marco Wilson and tight end Cam Grandy with Sean Clifford the emergency third quarterback …
Defensive tackle McKinnley Jackson, active in three of the last five games, could get on the field for the first time since Oct. 5 …
Pittsburgh is looking to get back on the train they were riding before running into a 25-10 loss in L.A. last week against the Chargers. Going into that game, they had an NFL-leading 50 points off turnover margin, but were minus-10 last week …
Also going into that game, they had an NFL-best plus-nine turnover margin before going minus-three in L.A. ….