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Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9), left, throws as he is tackled by Houston Texans defensive tackled Sheldon Rankins (98), right, during the first half of an NFL football game in Houston, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026.
Joe Burrow has six years of experience now facing the core of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense, but knowing what to expect doesn’t make it much easier.
The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback doesn’t just need to be aware of the pass rush from the likes of veterans T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith and Cam Heyward but also their ability to get their hands on the ball at the line of scrimmage.
It’s something Burrow said is challenging to prepare for, as the Bengals (2-0) set for their first AFC North matchup of the season Sunday, Sept. 27, at Pittsburgh (1-1). Heyward leads the league with four batted passes already, while Watt has an interception, 3.5 sacks and four quarterback hits and Highsmith adds 3.0 sacks and five quarterback hits.
“There's not much you can do at quarterback about those,” Burrow said. “You're looking through those guys, trying to see what's down the field. Quarterback position is trying to ignore the people in front of you as much as you can and feel the space around them and manipulate the pocket. They'll get one or two. They always do. You know, Cam is really good at it. TJ is really good at it. You can tell all those guys are coached up well for it, … so they're always aware for it. They'll get one or two. You just try not to let them be big plays.”
While Burrow is trying to look through Pittsburgh’s front seven, he will be missing one of his usual targets.
That will be the case for the foreseeable future, as Bengals coach Zac Taylor revealed Wednesday, Sept. 23 that Andrei Iosivas tore a ligament in his thumb during the team’s win at Houston on Sunday. Iosivas underwent surgery Wednesday morning and will spend at least the next four weeks on injured reserve.
Burrow said he looks forward to seeing others step up in Iosivas’ absence, but the Bengals offense will need to improve overall to help the team get where it wants to be this season. Burrow wasn’t happy with his performance Sunday at Houston but has a clear idea what he needs to do better to have success this week.
“There are a couple plays early I thought I could have manipulated and left the pocket a little faster than I did, and that's part of early season,” said Burrow, who was sore Wednesday but practiced in full and wasn’t on the injury report. “In training camp, you're not
Top photos from Week 2 of the NFL season
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow greets fans before an NFL football game against the Houston Texans in Houston, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026.
thinking that way, getting out of the pocket and trying to make plays. You're just executing the play as it's called. There aren't too many extended plays in training camp, and that's a challenge that I've always had early in the season is getting back to that playmaking mentality, and so certainly going to have to do that this week with the front that they have.”
The Bengals know exactly what to expect from a defensive personnel group that hasn’t changed much since last year, but new head coach Mike McCarthy and defensive coordinator Patrick Graham bring some tweaks to the system. Regardless, Burrow will have to be aware of what’s in front of him.
Although Burrow said there’s little he can do from a quarterback perspective to avoid batted balls, he statistically has done better in that area since the first few years of his career. In his first three seasons, he had 72 passes that were batted down over 42 games, and that number was down to 52 the last three years, over 35 games, going into this season.
“Sometimes it can be a play-by-play situation,” Taylor said. “It's what play you have. Sometimes some D-linemen can kind of read into how they're being set by the linemen and drop the quarterback. I hate to say it's something that drastically has changed for a quarterback because every game is a little unique. These guys are just really good at understanding maybe when they're not going to win in the rush, or something tells them the ball is coming out and they get their hands up. … It's something that they're really good at. And we've got to do a good job combatting that.”
Pittsburgh stands in the way of Cincinnati going 3-0 for the first time since 2015, and getting off to a good start in the division is “critical,” Burrow said. The Bengals got their first road win last week against a conference foe, but AFC North games mean a little bit more.
Burrow especially likes a chance to silence the away crowd. Wins on the road in the division feel different, he said.
“You want to start out strong in the division,” Burrow said. “These games are worth a lot. I love that it's in Pittsburgh. I'm excited to go there and try to perform. It's always a tough place to play against a tough team.”
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Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow throws during a game against Tampa Bay in Cincinnati on Sunday, Sept. 13. Burrow is expected to play Sunday, Sept. 20. Kareem Elgazzar / AP