NFL
By: Jalen Willingham
The Cincinnati Bengals will travel up north to face their Division Rival Pittsburgh Steelers for Week 11 of the 2022 NFL Season.
When: Sunday, November 20
Time: 4:25 pm
Network: CBS
Offense
Coming off the bye, the Bengals are going to be playing tough football all around. Every game is now a must-win. To open the season, this Bengals offense got punched in the mouth by the Steelers defense. Now in mid-season form going into week 11, I think the overall game will go much differently. Going another game without Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati is going to half to rely on getting good production out of running back Joe Mixon in both the running and passing game. Mixon finally came alive versus the Panthers in week 9. Cincinnati will need that same spark out of him when they play the Steelers. Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick will be back from his surgery to play on Sunday. I don’t want to see Burrow dropping back 40+ times as he did against Pittsburgh in week 1. There needs to be a solid running game established, along with passing the ball through play action to move the ball downfield. Turnovers have to be limited versus this defense.
The key matchup, however, will still be right tackle La’el Collins versus edge rusher T.J. Watt. This is huge for Pittsburgh, and although he’s only played in 2 games, Cincinnati needs to be ready to shut him down. I’d also pay attention to rookie left guard Cordell Volson going up against interior lineman Cameron Heyward. With both of them having key matchups, the weakest spot on the line going into the game is actually Jonah Williams at left tackle. Williams has given up 9 sacks this season. Facing Alex Highsmith will probably cause him to give up sack number 10. Burrow is getting sacked at least three times a game this season, so we’re about to see just how much both Collins and Volson have improved since week 1. It won’t surprise me if he does get sacked three times once again.
Defense
Rookie Kenny Pickett will be the starter for Pittsburgh this time around. While it may seem like an easy win on paper for the defense, the Bengals have been beaten by inferior quarterbacks before, however. The offense is one-dimensional, and the Bengals must take advantage of that. Cincinnati needs to shut down the run as they did in week 1. Nose tackle D.J. Reader will be back just in time to face Najee Harris after his best game of the season last week versus New Orleans. No one on the Steelers roster has more than two receiving touchdowns. If you put Pickett in difficult situations continuously, you will have a chance to pick it.
Even with the Steelers sub-par passing attack, they could still possibly take advantage of the Bengals weakness at corner. The loss of Chidobe Awuzie forces Eli Apple or rookie Cam Taylor-Britt to now be facing Diontae Johnson or rookie George Pickens. It wouldn’t surprise me if one of those two does in fact, score a touchdown. Daxton Hill being out also does not help the Bengals secondary. The Bengals pass rush has only accumulated 14 sacks through 10 games. The Steelers have given up 27 sacks so far, which is only three less than Cincinnati. Pickett was also sacked six times last week against the Saints. I want to see the Bengals dial up blitzes and get after the rookie. I trust defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo to make the adjustments needed. The pass rush has to convert pressures into full-on sacks to take Pittsburgh out of the game truly.
Prediction
Bengals win 26-21
