Steelers-Bengals Preview: A New Era Begins

Story by Yinzer Crazy Featured Steelers Writer Adam Davidson. Follow him on Twitter @Adam_J_Davidson

Bear with me one moment while I take a trip down memory lane. A time in Steelers history highlighted by the names Juju Smith-Schuster and Ben Roethlisberger. A time not so long ago, but so far away. The year was 2020.

Throughout this 2020 season, most fans were following COVID protocol and watching games from home. The Steelers were undefeated going into the month of December. And Juju Smith-Schuster was making a living by running shallow crossing routes on opposing defenses, snagging passes over bigger linebackers, and falling forward for extra yards. He was the tough, hard-nosed player Pittsburgh covets, and with comparisons to Hines Ward being thrown around Pittsburgh, the attention-seeking Juju sought to expand his influence on new platforms such as TikTok. But it was one shallow cross and one pregame TikTok dance that will live in infamy in Steelers Nation.

In Cincinnati, on a third down and seven, Juju received a short check-down pass from Ben Roethlisberger and ran parallel to the line of scrimmage toward the Steelers’ sideline. In a split second, Bengals safety Vonn Bell appeared and made his presence felt to both Juju and the Steelers. It was a tackle - and forced fumble - that jolted the Bengals out of the AFC North doldrums and set the team on course for a Super Bowl appearance just one season later.

“It was a tone setter,” Bell told the Cincinnati Enquirer, intimating that the entire team and organization fed off that moment and “(kept) on making bigger and better plays week in week out.”

For the Bengals, it was a moment that signaled a changing of the guard in the AFC North hierarchy. A prophetic moment that propelled Cincinnati to Super Bowl contention the next year, leaving the hated Steelers searching for their identity.

It’s now 2022, and the question remains: who are these Pittsburgh Steelers? In spite of some lingering questions and some personnel issues, at least this team knows who their quarterback is.

Rather than fumbling they’re way through the dark in the post-Roethlisberger era, the Steelers were proactive in ensuring a contentious race for the role of starting quarterback in 2022, a race won by free agent acquisition Mitch Trubisky. Now, an offense full of young playmakers has a quarterback, with the rookie Kenny Pickett waiting in the wings.

Quarterback drama and controversy aside, starting Trubisky week one is the obvious choice. The veteran entering his seventh year has the poise, experience and skill necessary to succeed in ”The Jungle.” Paycor Stadium (formerly Paul Brown Stadium) would do no favors for a rookie starting his first real NFL game. And with the Bengals’ pass-rushing duo of Sam Hubbard and Trey Hendrickson bearing down on him, Trubisky’s athleticism will be counted on to escape sacks in the backfield, and to turn negative plays into positive ones.

Indeed, the matchup between Cincinnati’s defensive front and Pittsburgh’s offensive line is where this game will be decided. Expect a ton of assistance from Freiermuth and Gentry for the banged-up Chukwuma Okorafor (back) against Sam Hubbard, and Najee Harris to provide a quick outlet for Trubisky against the blitz. It’s a combination that ought to afford Trubisky more time and better opportunities in the passing game and more than anyone, Najee Harris is eager to help out his new QB and make his mark in “The Jungle.” It’s been a year since the Bengals spoiled Najee’s huge game last year in week three, a contest in which the prized running back from Alabama snagged 14 passes for 102 yards at the former Heinz Field. The game plan for Matt Canada and the Steelers offense this year should be the same. Throw it quick and allow your skilled playmakers to run after the catch.

Diontae Johnson, who sustained a shoulder injury in the preseason finale versus Detroit, should be ready to go as well on Sunday, in addition to a complement of wideouts in Chase Claypool and rookie George Pickens. The trio has been known to excel at getting open downfield, running past safeties and chasing down the big throw, especially in the case of George Pickens. The rookie is going against a talented Cincinnati backfield that features the likes of Mike Hilton and Jessie Bates, and if things open up downfield, Trubisky’s downfield accuracy will be tested. It’s a facet of his game not yet demonstrated in the black and gold.

On the opposing sideline, the Bengals have a distinct identity. They’re Super Bowl contenders after all, and they have the swagger to boot. They’re a team with perhaps the best young quarterback in the NFL and its best young wide receiver. Just as they had at LSU, Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase exhibit extraordinary chemistry, and it’s incumbent upon the Steelers’ defense to have studied film and know what the prolific tandem is thinking before the ball is snapped.

Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick has recorded his fair share of turnovers (both interceptions and fumble recoveries) against these Bengals, and will need to flash on tape again in this matchup. However, this all depends on whether the Steelers’ front seven can contain the run on their own and allow their star safety to roam the field. For Minkah’s sake, 2022 ought to be the inverse of the trend we saw in 2021. The new linebacking duo of Devin Bush and Myles Jack will have to prove their worth and fight off blocks to track down the Bengal’s Joe Mixon on their own - a tall order considering the history Mixon has against recent Steelers’ defenses.

Then there’s TJ Watt, the reigning defensive player of the year and co-holder of the NFL record for sacks in a single season. Just about every accolade has been bestowed up TJ, except for the one accomplishment he values most - a Super Bowl title. While a ton of work will need to be put in this year to make that goal a reality, a good start against the Bengals and Joe Burrow wouldn’t hurt.

Considering the last meaningful game TJ Watt played in involved terrorizing Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City - albeit for just the first half - it would be safe to assume that TJ can pick up where he left off against new Bengals acquisition, right tackle La’el Collins. Opposite from TJ, Alex Highsmith will be seeing his first major action of 2022 considering he missed most of training camp and preseason due to injury. Elsewhere in the trenches, veteran defensive leader Cam Heyward and former Bengal Larry Ogunjobi will provide a constant presence along the interior, while Tyson Alualu makes his return to the starting lineup after going down for the season in week two last year. Collectively, the Steelers’ defense will have to set the tone versus a third-year QB who's just getting started.

Joe Burrow knows his identity, and he knows how to get to the “Big Game.” The Steelers, resplendent with young talent and ambition, are still figuring those things out. Still, a good week one doesn’t have to end in victory. Indeed, just hanging in there with the AFC champions will do wonders for the team’s confidence as they find their way in a new era. Altogether, I don’t expect a Steelers victory. But by mid-Sunday, I expect a number of small ones

Prediction: Bengals 27, Steelers 20