The Cincinnati Bengals likely need to win out the rest of the way to keep slim playoff hopes alive—and that starts with overcoming the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 13.
But nothing has ever been simple for the Bengals this year. Joe Burrow is an MVP candidate and might be the favorite if his team wasn’t 4-7 — he’s thrown for 3,028 yards and 27 scores. Ja’Marr Chase leads the NFL in yards receiving (1,056), yards after the catch (481) and touchdowns (12). Trey Hendrickson leads the NFL with 11.5 sacks.
But again, 4-7. The Bengals have also played great teams close, losing by one to Kansas City, a total of four points in two losses to Baltimore, etc.
Unfortunately for the Bengals, the Steelers are another borderline great team, an 8-3 squad that tops the AFC North despite letting a mini-quarterback carousel unfold with Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. It’s just the sort of thing that could give a miserable Bengals defense fits if the Steelers make a change during the game for certain drives.
There are two potential silver linings for the Bengals. One, the Steelers got stunned by a bad Browns team last time out. And two — and by far the biggest — is the gulf that exists when comparing the quarterbacks.
Fans of both teams know what this is going to be — a gritty, cold-weather AFC North contest. Burrow, at least, will have left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. back after a multi-game absence to shore up the line while he tries to play hero ball and will his team to its first win since the start of November.
Prediction: Bengals 20, Steelers 17
