After a Cinderella run to Super Bowl 56 last year, the Bengals entered this NFL season with incredibly high expectations. With a chilling superstar quarterback at the helm like Joe Burrow, many see the reigning AFC champion as a bona fide heavyweight and a team that could very well make it to the Big Game.
On Sunday against the Steelers (+6.5), their conference title defense couldn’t have gotten to a worse start. Cincinnati was on its first possession of the year as Burrow threw his first pass. A pass that Pittsburgh’s Minkah Fitzpatrick promptly jumped in front of and took to the house the other way for the first turnover and touchdown of the season:
Minkah Fitzpatrick PICK 6️⃣!!#Steelers #HereWeGo
🎥: @NFL
— BetFTW (@Bet_ForTheWin) September 11, 2022
First touchdown of the day: Steelers S Minkah Fitzpatrick, who picks off Joe Burrow and takes it to the house.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) September 11, 2022
Oh man, that has to be demoralizing. Regardless of the decision or the throw, it certainly isn’t how the Bengals wanted to start their season against a divisional rival.