The Cincinnati Bengals enter Week 12 looking to avoid the worst start in franchise history by overcoming…the Pittsburgh Steelers.
It is a fitting predicament given the history there. The Bengals are hurting but so are the Steelers, both thanks to injuries and last week’s fight with the Cleveland Browns.
We sat down with Curt Popejoy, managing editor of Steelers Wire, for a Q&A to get a better idea of what to expect.
Bengals Wire: Who is the fixture of Pittsburgh’s offense over the weekend if the trio of JuJu Smith-Schuster, Diontae Johnson and James Conner can’t go?
Curt Popejoy: I look for a heavy dose of running back Jaylen Samuels as a rusher and receiver. Mason Rudolph loves to dump it off to Samuels so if the run game can’t get going, Samuels could easily see double-digit catches again this week.
Bengals Wire: Bengals fans were antsy when the Steelers jumped up for Devin Bush, which looks even worse now that the Bengals have had horrific play from their linebackers. How’s he looked so far?
Curt Popejoy: It’s funny, at the start of the season we saw Bush make several big plays every game. But as the season has done on and guys like Minkah Fitzpatrick and T.J. Watt have emerged, Bush’s efforts are staying below the radar. He still leads the team with 75 tackles but isn’t stealing headlines anymore.
Bengals Wire: Speaking of ‘backers, Bud Dupree has enjoyed a wicked breakout this year. How does that impact Sunday? Think the Steelers dole out a big payday to keep him?
Curt Popejoy: Dupree has been much better than I expected. His ability to make plays has really opened things up for Watt on the other side and that should be scary for any quarterback. As for a big payday, I wouldn’t count on it. I’m sure Pittsburgh will make him an offer but if he wants really big money he might have to look elsewhere.
Bengals Wire: It goes without saying, but the fallout of the fight with the Browns continues to command headlines. Think it impacts how the Steelers perform?
Curt Popejoy: I look for the Steelers to come out pretty fired up. If there’s a downside to it all, it could be the Steelers’ players might be looking past the Bengals at that Browns rematch the next week. It might not cost them the game but I could certainly see another slow start and some sloppy football.
Bengals Wire: Is it upset alert time? How do you see this one playing out?
Curt Popejoy: I don’t think the Bengals will pull off the upset but I expect this game to be closer. The Steelers are going to struggle to put points on the board and need the defense to have a bounceback game after a miserable effort last week. Steelers 17, Bengals 7
