Bengals Preview – Week 1 vs. Steelers

The NFL opened its 102nd regular season in history this past Thursday night with what looked to be a riveting matchup between the incumbent Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams and the AFC heavyweight Buffalo Bills. In reality, we got a 31-10 romp in which the defending champions looked lost in their own stadium. Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford struggled to find any receiver not named Cooper Kupp as the Bills’ pass rush relentlessly hounded him off the field. Conversely, Bills quarterback Josh Allen connected to several different receivers on big plays – including two guys in Gabriel Davis and Isaiah McKenzie who had far less prominent roles in the Bills’ 2021 offense than they did last night.

All this to say: it’s a new season. The Bengals aren’t what they were in February any more than those other teams. Who will they be this Sunday?

Game Information

LOCATION: Paycor Stadium | Cincinnati, OH
DATE: Sunday, September 11, 2022
TIME: 1:00 PM EST
BROADCAST: CBS

Betting Information

OVER/UNDER

OPEN: 44.5
LIVE: 44.5

SPREAD

OPEN: CIN -6.5
LIVE: CIN -6.5

Injury Report

BENGALS

OUT: TE Devin Asiasi (Quad)
QUESTIONABLE: WR Trent Taylor (Hamstring), TE Mitchell Wilcox (Ankle)
Also listed: TE Drew Sample (Knee)

STEELERS

(No players designated Out, Doubtful, or Questionable.)
Also listed: LB Marcus Allen (Hamstring), WR Diontae Johnson (Shoulder/Cramps), DT Cameron Hayward (Coach’s Decision), OT Chukwuma Okorafor (Back)

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Analysis

While this isn’t the same Bengals team we saw win the AFC Championship last season, it still looks like a team worth taking at home over most – if not all – opponents. So did the Rams, to be fair, but the Bills were a far greater caliber of opponent than the Steelers figure to be. Don’t assume the Bengals will steamroll the Steelers 41-10 like they did in Cincinnati last year, but it’d be an upset if they failed to take care of business altogether.

Joe Burrow is still playing quarterback for the team a year after throwing for 4,611 yards and 34 touchdowns while completing over 70 percent of his passes. The trio of Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Tyler Boyd are all fully healthy and ready to go at receiver. At the same positions, the Steelers are set to roll with Mitchell Trubisky, Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, and rookie George Pickens. Pickens has had as impressive an offseason as any rookie out there right now, but the Bengals appear to have the better guns if this games turns into a shootout.

If the Steelers win, it’ll be because of a herculean effort by incumbent Defensive Player of the Year T.J. Watt and the Steelers’ defense to neutralize the Bengals’ offensive advantage. That’ll take some effort from their front seven – the Bengals’ receivers against the Steelers’ defensive backs is among the most lopsided matchups of the game. Joe Haden remains in free agency a year after having the second-highest snap count among cornerbacks for the Steelers in 2021. The Steelers’ projected starting cornerbacks for Sunday – Cameron Sutton, Ahkello Weatherspoon, and Arthur Maulet – were all on the team last year. Maybe the unit improved over the offseason, away from the prying eyes of the rest of the league.

Or, maybe not.

Prediction

Bengals 31 – Steelers 17

– Andy Hammel is the Managing Editor for the Bengals at Full Press Coverage. Follow @Andy_Hammel