The Cincinnati Bengals (5-4) will head to Pittsburgh on a mission to get their first win in the AFC North against the Steelers on Sunday afternoon.In the first meeting between the Bengals and Steelers, it was Pittsburgh who came out on top 23-20. The Steelers are 3-6 on the year and sit at the bottom of the division currently.A big reason why Cincinnati lost to Pittsburgh in Week 1 was quarterback Joe Burrow’s uncharacteristic four turnovers. The Bengals quarterback vowed to not have a similar performance in Week 11.Bengals news:Why Sam Hubbard is playing the best football of his Cincinnati Bengals careerSteelers vs. Bengals:La'el Collins gets a chance at redemption against T.J. Watt“I’m just going to be smarter with the ball, I’m not going to throw four interceptions,” Burrow said Wednesday during his press conference. “That’s an outlier for me. So, that’s my plan going in.”Burrow has thrown six interceptions on the year and has been very good at taking care of the ball this season. It’s important to point out what Burrow went through before the Week 1 game when critiquing his performance.On July 26, the day before the Bengals began training camp practice, Burrow informed the team he was having stomach pains. It quickly escalated and he needed an emergency appendectomy. He missed almost all of training camp and couldn’t return to practice in full capacity until the team hosted the Los Angeles Rams in the final week of August.The former No. 1 overall pick was cleared to play ahead of the season-opener but it was clear Burrow was knocking off rust against the Steelers.When asked what’s different from Week 1 compared to Week 11, Burrow quickly pointed to him being healthy. Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said he doesn’t think Burrow’s surgery and the recovery led to his four interceptions, though.“If you're just speaking turnovers I don't think any of that had to do with anything,” Taylor said. “One of them was a fourth down trying to fit into a tight window. One of them was a D end picking it off. One was Minkah (Fitzpatrick) making a great play, the second play of the season. That's what you deal with Week 1 of the season – what are the changes that you're going to see and how they play things? None of that goes into the appendectomy I don't think.”Cincinnati is 0-3 in games when Burrow throws an interception. The first four interceptions of the season came against the Steelers and the next two occurred against the Ravens and the Browns. The Bengals lost all three and it’s clear when Burrow plays turnover free football, he gives his team the best chance to win.Pittsburgh makes it hard on quarterbacks to not turn the ball over because of their defensive line. Between Alex Highsmith, who had three sacks on Burrow in the first meeting and was just named AFC Defensive Player of the Week, and All-Pros Cam Heyward and TJ Watt, the Steelers pose problems up front. The Steelers sacked Burrow seven times in the Week 1 loss. Watt recorded 22.5 sacks and five forced fumbles in 2021 and Highsmith has 8.5 sacks on the year and three forced fumbles.Taylor is pleased with the performance of his offensive line. Burrow has been sacked 30 times this season, the second-most in the NFL. When talking about the sack number overall for Burrow, it’s important to note that 13 of those came in the first two weeks in losses to Pittsburgh and Dallas. For this game in particular, the Bengals' two tackles, La'el Collins and Jonah Williams, will have to play well to prevent Watt and Highsmith from wrecking the game. Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan said Collins is playing as well as he has all season in the last two games.Bengals injury news:Cincinnati ‘optimistic’ about D.J. Reader’s return ahead of critical matchup against SteelersFor the Bengals to beat the Steelers, they’ll have to start fast and score early. When Cincinnati does that, they are one of the best offensive units in football as Burrow plays much better when he’s playing in rhythm. The Bengals need to win this game to keep their postseason hopes alive and it will come down to how Cincinnati protects Burrow and if he cuts down on the turnovers.“That's the stress that Pittsburgh puts on you is that they have a great front,” Taylor said. “That's got to be the focus helping your team schematically, your quarterback play is part of that, running the ball, being able to throw the ball and stressing the secondary, it all plays into it." Source link
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