8:15 PM EST – Line: Steelers -3, Over/Under: 44.5
Desperation is building for both of tonight’s participants, as the struggling Pittsburgh Steelers play host to the winless Cincinnati Bengals, from Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, rekindling one of the most bitter rivalries in the league. With the 16-year reign of Marvin Lewis finally coming to an end, the Bengals (0-3, 4th in AFC North) have embarked on a new era under the young Zac Taylor, which has admittedly gotten off to the slowest of starts, which given the state of the franchise upon his hiring, is expected. After all, Cincinnati has been in dire need of extensive renovation after years of drifting towards entropy, with an Offense that has slowly eroded coupled with a Defense that flatlined in 2018, ranking dead-last in the NFL in Total Defense (406.4 Y/G). Following the trend of hiring young, bright offensive minds, the club landed on Taylor, who was the latest member of Sean McVay’s Coaching Tree to be tabbed as a Head Coach, with the hopes of revolutionizing the Offense, which has been slow to materialize. First and foremost, veteran Quarterback, Andy Dalton (62.8%, 978 YDS, 6.61 NY/A, 5 TD, 3 INT, 31.3 QBR), has done little to convince the new regime that he should remain their leading man moving forward, posting a 31.3 QBR through the first three games, which represents the lowest such figure of his career by a mile. Granted, the 32-Year Old hasn’t received much help, suffering Eleven Sacks thus far translating to a Sack Percentage of 7.9%, a significant decline from last season (5.4%). Granted, the Offensive Line has already sustained heavy losses, with both Tackles, Cordy Glenn and Andre Smith, hampered throughout Practice over the past few weeks with various ailments, while their 2019 First Round Pick, No. 11 Overall, Jonah Williams, is expected to miss the entire season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum in his shoulder. The issues in the trenches have also meant that their considerable problems rushing the football have continued from 2018, for Cincy has averaged a meager 42.0 Yards per Game (31st Overall) on 2.4 Yards per Carry (32nd Overall). Granted, missing Pro-Bowl Receiver, A.J. Green, who is expected to miss the first six weeks of the campaign with torn ligaments in his left ankle, has factored into this group’s problems, though Taylor, who also serves as the unit’s primary play-caller, has worked wonders with the likes of his fellow Wideouts, Tyler Boyd (24 REC, 249 YDS, 10.2 Y/R, 0 TD) and most notably John Ross (13 REC, 292 YDS, 22.5 Y/R, 3 TD). The latter has largely disappointed after being selected Ninth Overall in the 2017 Draft, thanks in large part to a series of simple ailments that have kept the speedster sidelined. Despite a quiet showing in last weekend’s 17-21 loss at Buffalo, Ross exploded in the first two weeks, with Eleven Receptions for 243 Yards and Three Touchdowns. There’s clearly plenty of work to be done on this side of the football, but the Defense still needs plenty of time and effort too. This was painfully evident against the Bills, who rung up 416 Total Yards on Twenty-Five First Downs, rushing for 175 Yards on Thirty-Six Carries, possessing the football for 36:54. After Randy Bullock drilled a 43-Yard Field Goal to take a 17-14 lead with 4:54 left to play, the Defense could do nothing to stop the hosts’ final Drive that consisted of Seven Plays for Seventy-Eight Yards, which didn’t feature a Third Down until they were on the Goal Line, ending in a go-ahead Touchdown. With just 1:50 left to go, the aforementioned Dalton drove the visiting side Forty-Two Yards down the field to the Buffalo 28-Yard Line, with his final frantic attempt to score resulting in an Interception, ending the affair. If their past meetings with the Steelers is any indication, than it will be difficult to turn things around on Monday Night, for Cincinnati is 3-12 against Pittsburgh with Dalton under Center, losers of eight straight in this series dating back to 2015.
Meanwhile, coming into the season, if we had told you that both of these teams would be frantically searching for their first victory, you probably would have laughed at us, but that is exactly the case as the Steelers (0-3, 3rd in AFC north) are reaching a whole new level of desperation. For just the third time in this millennium, Pittsburgh has begun their season with three consecutive losses, which given their recent set of circumstances threatens to last a lot longer. This was supposed to be a relief year for Mike Tomlin and his charges, what with cutting ties with two of the most polarizing figures in franchise history, All-Pros, Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown, the former who sat out the entirety of the 2018 campaign in protest of the Franchise Tag, and the latter, well, for other reasons. A quieter locker room was supposed to translate to a team with a better piece of mind, but that all changed once veteran Quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger (56.5%, 351 YDS, 5.38 NY/A, 0 TD, 1 INT, 20.8 QBR), went down for the count in a 26-28 loss at the Seattle Seahawks two weeks ago. The 37-Year Old didn’t return to the field after Halftime, citing a nagging right elbow that after post-game x-rays revealed a fracture, sending him to Injured Reserve, effectively ending his season. Needless to say, this represents a HUGE problem for the Steelers, who just a week before the injury sent their Backup Quarterback, Josh Dobbs, to the Jacksonville Jaguars in a trade, leaving them with Sophomore, Mason Rudolph (56.5%, 286 YDS, 5.67 NY/A, 4 TD, 2 INT, 19.5 QBR), as their last option to lead them under Center. The former Third Round Pick out of Oklahoma State performed admirably in Roethlisberger’s absence, completing 12-of-19 Attempts for 112 Yards, Two Touchdowns and an Interception, but couldn’t lead his side to victory. With a week’s worth of preparation, the 24-Year Old kept things close in his first career start, though it nonetheless ended in defeat, 20-24 at the San Francisco 49ers. This time around, Rudolph found the going much harder, completing just 14-of-27 Passes for 174 Yards, Two Touchdowns and an Interception, as the visiting Steelers could manage a scant 239 Total Yards on Eleven First Downs, despite the benefit of FIVE Turnovers forced by their Defense, possessing the football for only 23:43. Tomlin’s charges converted just 3-of-13 opportunities between Third and Fourth Down, and committed a pair of Turnovers themselves, as their Tailback, James Conner (34 CAR, 97 YDS, 2.9 Y/C, 1 TD), lost a Fumble, punctuating a terrible day in which the Junior mustered only Fifty-Seven Yards from Scrimmage on Seventeen Touches. Just about the only positive that could have been taken from the dismal affair was Rudolph exhibiting an already solid rapport with Pro-Bowl Receiver, JuJu Smith-Schuster (14 REC, 243 YDS, 17.4 Y/R, 1 TD), who reeled in Three Receptions for Eighty-One Yards, hooking up for 76-Yard Touchdown to take the lead late in the Third Quarter. It will be imperative that both Conner and Smith-Schuster help their young Quarterback and carry the Offense, for their collective emergence in 2018 played a large role in the club’s willingness to move on from the aforementioned Bell and Brown. Indeed, they’ll need to graduate from standouts to leaders, which is a lot to ask from the 24 and 23-Year Old. In a separate bit of business, Pittsburgh made a surprise move to bolster their porous Defense, acquiring wantaway Cornerback, Minkah Fitzpatrick (16 TKL, 1 QBH, 2 FF, 1 FR, 1 INT, 1 PD), via trade with the floundering Miami Dolphins. It was a significant move for a variety of reasons, for just last year he was drafted No. 11 Overall by Miami, and should represent a clear upgrade over the incumbent Artie Burns, whom the team looks eager to move on from. Fitzpatrick acquainted himself quickly in his first action with his new teammates, registering Five Tackles, a Quarterback Hit, a Forced Fumble, and an Interception in the loss at San Francisco. However, though he should help out a beleaguered Defense that currently ranks Twenty-Eighth in both Points Allowed (28.3 P/G) and Total Yards permitted (442.0 Y/G), while lagging at next-to-last in Pass Defense (302.7 Y/G), it needs to be said that this was indeed a costly move for the Steelers, who shipped a 2020 First Round Pick and Fifth Round Pick, along with a conditional Sixth Round Pick in 2021 to the Dolphins for his services. Needless to say, it’s a gamble for a team that is capped out with an aging (and now injured) Quarterback, to be shipping away prime assets for a young Defensive Back. How much better does Fitzpatrick make this team at the end of the Day? Only time will tell…