PITTSBURGH — Maybe it won't happen Sunday afternoon. Maybe the Steelers will find a way to beat the Cincinnati Bengals for the sixth consecutive time at Heinz Field and the 12th time in the past 13 games in the series.
But the day is coming quickly when the Bengals will be the better team. They have their quarterback for the future. The Steelers don't.
It won't be shocking if Joe Burrow gets the win this weekend. Mike Tomlin listed four defensive starters on the Steelers' injury list Tuesday, including T.J. Watt. The four come in addition to Tyson Alualu, who is out for the season with a broken ankle.
Burrow probably can't wait to line up against what's left of the Steelers defense.
These aren't the same Bungles you have known and laughed at for years.
It starts with Burrow, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft. He already would be among the league's top quarterbacks if not for a serious knee injury that took him out in the 10th game last season. But he's quickly making up for lost time. He led an overtime win against the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 12 and rebounded from interceptions on three consecutive passes against the Chicago Bears on Sunday to give the Bengals a chance to win.
"Joe is really talented," Tomlin said. "He can make all the throws. His intellect is exceptional."
And ...
"[Burrow has] a ridiculous collection of eligibles," Tomlin said.
Ja'Marr Chase, the Bengals' No. 1 pick in April and Burrow's old teammate at LSU, became the first receiver since Sammy White in 1976 to have a touchdown catch of at least 40 yards in his first two games. You can bet Burrow and Chase noticed the Las Vegas Raiders' Henry Ruggs burning the Steelers for a 61-yard touchdown Sunday. Tee Higgins was the Bengals' second-round pick in 2020. You know all about Tyler Boyd from his days at Clairton High and Pitt.
"We used to always work to neutralize him with Mike Hilton, but we'll be playing against Mike Hilton this week," Tomlin said, somewhat wistfully.
Bengals running back Joe Mixon is the second-leading rusher in the NFL after two weeks. He has rushed for 196 yards and a 4.0 yards-per-carry average, numbers that exceed Najee Harris' 83 rushing yards and 3.2 average. That's not surprising: The Bengals' offensive line is better than the Steelers'.
It's been only two games, but the Steelers are the worst running team in the league — again. So much for all the offseason talk about significant improvement.
The Steelers' run-game production might not improve against the Bengals, who committed $230 million in the past two offseasons to improve their defense, which allowed the most rushing yards in the league from 2018-2020. They held the Vikings' Dalvin Cook to 61 rushing yards and the Bears' David Montgomery to 61. The Bears managed just 206 yards of total offense.
Sunday also could be a rough afternoon for Ben Roethlisberger, who was hit 10 times by the Raiders.
"He took too many hits," Tomlin acknowledged.
The Bengals had six sacks and 15 pressures in their first two games. They had just 17 sacks all of last season, fewest in the NFL.
These really aren't the same Bungles.
"They're playing violently," coach Zac Taylor said of his defense. "They're playing aggressive. They're playing detailed. They're not giving up anything easy."
Clearly, this is the best team Taylor has had in his two-plus seasons as head coach. He's just 2-10 against AFC North opponents, but one of those wins came against the Steelers in December. That win is a big reason there is so much optimism in Cincinnati, despite the loss to the Bears. The feeling there is the Bengals' time is coming and the Steelers' time is just about past.
Of course, we've been there before, haven't we?
The Bengals thought they left the Steelers for dead when they beat them at Heinz Field late in the 2005 season. The Bengals were 9-3 after that game and went on to win the AFC North. The Steelers were 7-5 and reeling. That was the day Bengals wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh wiped his cleat with a Terrible Towel.
But the Steelers won their final four regular season games before meeting the Bengals in the playoffs at Paul Brown Stadium. On the Bengals' second play, Steelers defensive end Kimo von Oelhoffen rolled into quarterback Carson Palmer's knee just as he released a pass, knocking him out of the game. It didn't matter that Palmer completed the throw to wide receiver Chris Henry for 66 yards. The Bengals were finished. The Steelers won, 31-17, and went on to win Super Bowl XL against the Seattle Seahawks.
The playoff game between the Bengals and Steelers after the 2015 season hurt all of Cincinnati nearly as much. The Bengals had the game won when two of their defensive stars, Vontaze Burfict and Adam Jones, lost their mind. Each took a 15-yard penalty, enabling Chris Boswell to win the game with a 35-yard field goal.
It's no wonder Bengals fans are taking nothing for granted. But their time is coming.
This time, it's really coming.
