Pittsburgh Steelers (4-1) at Cincinnati Bengals (2-4)
Thursday, 8:15 p.m. ET, Prime Video
FanDuel odds: Steelers -5.5, Total 43.5
Inside Edge intel: Steelers wide receivers lead the NFL with an average of 8.7 yards after the catch this season. The Bengals have allowed 5.2 yards after catch per reception to WRs this season (third-worst in NFL). Last season, the Bengals allowed 10 TD passes to tight ends.
Series Rewind: The Steelers won 11 consecutive games in the series from 2015-2020 and hold the all-time edge over the Bengals, 71-40 including a 2-0 record in the postseason.
Starting QBs Aaron Rodgers, in his first season with the Steelers, and Joe Flacco, in his second start for the Bengals, are vying to make 40 the new 37 in NFL passer parlance. The meeting is the third all-time between 40-something starting quarterbacks with Tom Brady and Drew Brees — who met twice during the 2020 season — sharing the only prior occurrences.
Cincinnati acquired Flacco prior to last week’s trip to Green Bay and immediately installed him as the starter. The Bengals were 2-0 in games started by Joe Burrow, who is on IR with a toe injury. Jake Browning threw eight interceptions in three-plus games and Cincinnati was 0-3 in his last three starts, prompting the maneuver of acquiring Flacco from Cleveland to start for his third different AFC North team (Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns). He threw two TD passes in his debut last week and it’s fair to say Steelers coach Mike Tomlin wasn’t excited to learn he’d be seeing Flacco for the 26th time in his career (the first 22 as a member of the rival Ravens and last September when Flacco replaced an injured Anthony Richardson with the Indianapolis Colts).
Rodgers might not be the MVP-level quarterback of decades ago, but he has mostly enjoyed success in a career reset with the Steelers. He rolls into Week 7 with 63,973 career regular-season passing yards and is only 115 yards back from former Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger (64,088 passing yards), who is currently fifth all-time in regular-season passing yards. Cincinnati has been hit early and often by big plays, especially in the passing game. The Bengals’ 43 passing TDs allowed since the start of the 2024 season is second-worst in the NFL.
Pittsburgh’s offseason investments on the other side of the ball are boosting the secondary. CB Jalen Ramsey gets a one-on-one matchup with Ja’Marr Chase, Flacco’s clear No. 1 target, as the Bengals try to find a spark in the running game. Chase caught his 50th career TD last week and his 2,176 receiving yards since the 2024 season began leads the NFL. While his numbers are down from a superhuman effort in 2024, Chase is averaging seven catches per game, tied for No. 3 in the league.
RB Chase Brown’s average of 2.7 yards per carry and 1.5 yards after contact are in the bottom five of the 43 qualified NFL backs in the league.
–Field Level Media
