Steelers Scouting Report: What to expect from the Cincinnati Bengals
Unfortunately, it’s been a rough past couple of weeks for Steelers fans. We’ve seen our once undefeated team drop two in a row and look out of sorts the past couple of games.
The good news is, they’re in the playoffs and have a clean slate this week to get back on track. Pittsburgh will be on the road Monday night in a game that should serve as an opportunity to get back to their winning ways.
They face their AFC North rival, the Cincinnati Bengals who don’t have anything left to play for while the Steelers can clinch the division with a win. With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at this week’s opponent, the Cincinnati Bengals.
Injury Report
The Bengals are a team that has been hit hard by injuries this season. On offense, they will be without starting quarterback Joe Burrow (ACL/MCL), running back Joe Mixon (Foot), offensive tackle Jonah Williams (Knee), tight end C.J. Uzomah (Achilles), and receivers John Ross (Foot) and Auden Tate (Labrum) who were all placed on the IR. Quarterback Brandon Allen (Knee) and offensive tackle Bobby Hart (Back) are both listed as questionable.
Defensively, they will be without their star defensive tackle Geno Atkins (Shoulder) along with defensive tackle Renell Wren (Quadriceps), nose tackle D.J. Reader (Quadriceps), and cornerbacks Trae Waynes (Foot) and Tony Brown (Hamstring) as they are all on the IR. Rookie linebacker Logan Wilson (Foot) and safety Brandon Wilson (Groin) are both listed as questionable.
Cincinnati’s offense has struggled without Burrow
While the Bengals haven’t looked great all season, one of their only bright spots was that they seemed to have found their franchise quarterback in rookie Joe Burrow. Unfortunately, Burrow went down with a season-ending knee injury against Washington and their offense hasn’t recovered.
Since then, Brandon Allen has stepped in as the starter. Allen has thrown for 506 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions in three games. Ryan Finley has also seen some time at quarterback and will be called on if Allen can’t play.
Whoever is under center will be looking to Tyler Boyd and rookie Tee Higgins as their top targets.
Boyd leads the team in receptions and yardage with 78 for 840 but Higgins leads them in touchdowns with five. Veteran A.J. Green and tight end Drew Sample will be in the mix as well.
Their passing attack will be facing their toughest task of the season as they are facing a very talented Steelers secondary. Pittsburgh is second in the league in passing defense, allowing 202.2 passing yards per game and 19 total passing touchdowns while coming away with a league-leading 17 interceptions. It also helps that their defense also leads the league in total sacks with 45.
Unfortunately, the woes for this offense don’t stop with the passing game. The Bengals have been hit with a huge injury out of the backfield with star running back Joe Mixon missing time. In his absence, Giovani Bernard has been the guy that they have called on. Bernard has run the ball 80 times for 261 yards and two touchdowns so far this season. Backup running back Samaje Perine should see some carries as well.
Bernard will be facing a Steelers front seven that has been solid against the run this season but has been hit with some key injuries. They currently rank sixth against the run giving up 100.9 rushing yards per game and seven total rushing touchdowns. This will be another opportunity for linebacker Avery Williamson to prove himself with the added responsibilities.
Bengals’ defense continues to be mediocre
While they haven’t been good on offense, the Bengals haven’t looked any better on the defensive side of the ball. They are 24th in the league in total defense, allowing 382.3 yards per game and 26 points per game. If you had to pick a strong point for the defense it would be against the pass.
Cincinnati is 22nd in the league against the pass giving up 250.6 passing yards per game and 25 total passing touchdowns while coming away with nine interceptions.
Their secondary is led by the star of their defense in free safety Jessie Bates III. Bates leads the team with three interceptions. He will be joined in the secondary by Vonn Bell at strong safety with William Jackson III and Darius Phillips starting at corner and Mackenzie Alexander playing the nickel. Shawn Williams will also rotate in at strong safety.
Their secondary will be facing a Steelers passing attack that will be looking to get back on track this week. Ben Roethlisberger has been outstanding this season but has been the victim of dropped passes the past two games. Hopefully, his receivers, especially second-year standout Diontae Johnson, can get back to where they started on Monday night.
As mediocre as they have been against the pass, the Bengals have been even worse at stopping the run. Cincinnati ranks 28th in the league in rushing defense, allowing 131.7 rushing yards per game and nine total rushing touchdowns this season. Their front seven has struggled this season, especially without Geno Atkins.
If I had to pick a star of this group it would be a defensive end, Carl Lawson. He will be joined on the line by Sam Hubbard at the other end with Mike Daniels at nose and Christian Covington filling in for Atkins at tackle.
Behind them, the Bengals have a linebacker core that hasn’t proven much but does have some somewhat promising young talent coming up. Josh Bynes and Germaine Pratt are the starters with rookies Logan Wilson and Akeem Davis-Gaither also seeing meaningful snaps.
This week will be an interesting matchup for this group as they are facing a Steelers run game that has been non-existent lately. Against this front seven, this could be the game where they try to get lead James Conner going in the right direction after returning from the COVID-19 list last week.
Final Thoughts
As I mentioned, this has been a rough past two games for the Steelers but they have a big opportunity to flip the script this week.
While things have looked rough lately, I don’t see any way how that doesn’t happen on Monday. The talent gap of these two teams is just simply too large for the Bengals to overcome. Against this terrible run defense, this will be the game that Conner gets back on track.
On the other side of the ball, T.J. Watt and company will make life very miserable for Allen or whoever is at quarterback and the secondary will capitalize.
I have the Steelers running away with this one 31-10 to win the AFC North division title.
