It’s a rivalry week right from the very beginning in 2022 for the Cincinnati Bengals as they host the Pittsburgh Steelers at Paycor Stadium.
Those Bengals enter the game as notable favorites, which makes plenty of sense.
Cincinnati, after all, ran up a 65-20 score on the Steelers last year over a season sweep. And this offseason while the team potentially upgraded four spots on the offensive line, the Steelers held a quarterback competition amid a rebuild.
While the defense dominated over those two matchups the offense took whatever the Steelers gave it, too. Joe Burrow threw a trio of scores on 18 attempts with just four incompletions in one blowout. In the other, Burrow again had four incompletions but just one scoring pass while Joe Mixon ran for 165 yards and two scores.
Still—Bengals fans know it’s usually never that easy against their most heated rival.
The Steelers might be down but they’re never fully out. Mike Tomlin remains the head coach, the defense should be feisty and the offense has a wicked cast of weapons around a so-so quarterback situation, highlighted by running back Najee Harris and wideouts Diontae Johnson, George Pickens and Chase Claypool.
There’s also the matter of Week 1 shenanigans that happen each year. New coaches, players, strategies, rust and conditioning, all of it plays a part in the wacky results annually. Maybe the Bengals come out firing on all cylinders, but the offensive line hasn’t had a ton of time together, really no starters played all preseason, Burrow had that appendix operation and needed to gain back weight and names like Eli Apple and others had spotty attendance in camp.
All that said, it’s hard to predict the Steelers march into Cincinnati and take down a Super Bowl squad in a very hostile environment, even with Big Ben trying to stir the pot from retirement before kickoff.
Maybe Burrow’s line doesn’t have an easy time at first in pass protection with the four new starters, but those guys can undoubtedly get out in front for the running game. This has the feel of a grind-it-out Mixon game that is never really in doubt thanks to the stout defense.
Prediction: Bengals 27, Steelers 20
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