Bengals MUST Defeat Steelers or Joe Burrow’s Return Becomes Less Likely

Bengals MUST Defeat Steelers or Joe Burrow’s Return Becomes Less Likely

If the Cincinnati Bengals are going to make Joe Burrow’s return count for something, they can’t be a get-right team for the Pittsburgh Steelers this week. Let’s get into it. You are Locked On Bengals, your daily Cincinnati Bengals podcast, part of the Locked On Network, your team every day. What up, Bengals fans? Welcome to another episode of the Locked On Bengals podcast, part of the Locked On Network, your team every day. And not only your team every day, but the number one sports podcast network on the planet. We appreciate all of you out there who make Lockdown Bengals your first listen. All you everydayers out there that have helped Locked On Bengals help the Lockdown Podcast Network be the number one sports podcast network out there. He’s James Renee. I’m Jake Lisco. We’ve been covering your Cincinnati Bengals here on Lockdown Bengals since 2016. And today we dive into the Bengals coming out of the by-week against the Pittsburgh Steelers as playoff leverage watch is back on much like last year. How much can the Bengals keep their hopes alive? And I can hear your eyes rolling. I can hear all of you saying playoffs. I can hear it. I can hear all of you saying it. You don’t have to scream it at me. I hear it through the internet. But reality is is this team has things to play for in front of it. Even though the season has gone the way it’s gone, even though the defense is what it is, they’ve got a bunch of football games left to play here, James. And if they’re going to have any hopes of making Joe Burrow’s return meaningful, give him a shot to play in meaningful games. Whether he’s back for Thanksgiving or back in the beginning of December, this game against the Pittsburgh Steelers is a big one for playoff leverage. For sure. This is one of those you you have to win. You have to get to 3 and 0 in the division and that’s it. Joe Burrow said it earlier this week that the path to the playoffs is through the north. And it’s unfortunate had they handled business over the past couple of weeks, past couple of games, they would still be in the running for the wild card and we could still have that conversation. But it really isn’t that realistic at this point. And I I think when you look at the division, you look at a Steelers team that certainly uh hit a a roadblock, so to speak, as that schedule changed, and it obviously started with the Bengals handling business against them on uh on October 16th. So, a month later, they have to do the same thing to realistically keep any playoff chances alive. And honestly, to keep the door open for Joe Burrow, I think that’s a big factor here as well. There’s a reason why Joe was non-committal on returning and it has nothing to do with him. Has everything to do with this team. And and I think that’s that’s what I’m looking at on Sunday is how this coaching staff, how this defense, how the offense now, knowing that Joe Burrow is getting close, how they respond, how they play, how buttoned up things look, how how much they get after it and attack it. Because if they truly believe, regardless of what everyone’s saying about the defense, if they truly believe that, hey, if we win a couple of games here, Joe Bros going to come back, well, then they should be playing with their their hats on fire, so to speak, right? They should just be playing at at a a really really intense level. Will that result in success? We can dive into all of those things, but I I just think high level, if you know Joe’s around the corner, all right, pressure’s on now. You got to deliver and do your part so he can actually get back on the field. Yeah. What kind of jolt do you get? What kind of bi-week adjustments do you get? What kind of synthesis of information that you’ve obtained throughout your young career can you then apply into lessons over the course of the by-week? Because that’s something that like Dylan Fairchild talked about. He had that injury. He missed a game or two. Don’t even remember now. Was it two games? and he then comes back and is able to apply lessons from having time to synthesize that information that he’d obtained and and then feel figure out, okay, how do I apply that knowledge? How do I apply my my NFL experience? And hopefully for some of these young players that have really been struggling, you get some of that. But we’re we’re kind of grasping at straws there. We will get to the defense. The Pittsburgh Steelers offense really struggled last week and it’s at the point where, you know, just talked to Chris Carter for the crossover yesterday, James, and he’s talking about like, ah, is this another Russ Wilson situation where our old quarterback is going to fall off a cliff in the second half of the season? That’s what they’re worried about in Pittsburgh right now. And I’m sitting here thinking like, uh, I I don’t know if the Bengals are going to challenge Aaron Rogers. Like, yeah, this is probably another week where the Bengals are going to help a team get right. They’ve done it what, seven straight weeks now, eight straight weeks now. Every week essentially since the Cleveland game, an offense has done something pretty gross against the Cincinnati Bengals defense. And we we’ll get there, but I got a fun fact for you, James. This is the first time in four years the Cincinnati Bengals have played the Pittsburgh Steelers coming out of the bye-week. And it’s going to be four times out of the last six years. In fact, the Bengals have played in the Zack Taylor era, the Steelers, four times coming out of the by-week, which I think that the most for any other team is once. Is is a weird little uh scheduling idiosyncrasy. The Bengals playing the Steelers a lot coming off of the Bengals by. How much success do you have that in front of you? How many have they one lost? Not trying to put you in the spot here. So, they lost last year. They lost in 2024. memorable game in which they lost 44 to to 38 and uh the year before that it was San Francisco in 23. In 2022 they won 37 to 30 and we the big dogs that that’s the Joe Burrow we the big dogs. He yelled it on the sideline. Before that it was Joe’s rookie year in 2020 where they lost. So not not a great record. They’ve won one of their previous opportunities and this is their fourth. You better get two. you you better get it to get two. Look, it’s um that is weird. That’s odd that you come out, you play the Steelers uh after the buy. I I think the the Aaron Rogers conversation is really interesting when you you include what Mike Tomlin his reaction was this week. And um I I I just know less than a month ago, we watched Aaron Rogers really mess with these linebackers, these rookie linebackers, and it was early on and Yeah. And it was early on in in Barrett Carter’s starting tenure. Of course, it was his second game started, but but that’s that’s something like if I’m Aaron Rogers, I’m like, “All right, well, I’m gonna I’m gonna get right as long as I don’t throw it up uh a ball that I shouldn’t have thrown and let Jordan Battle or DJ Turner intercepted.” And DJ made a great play on that second interception. Like, he played really well. Like, those are the two plays that uh one you you want back, the other one DJ Turner just made a heck of a a play. So, can the Bengals at least do that? You know, I I I get it. Everyone’s down on the defense and and all of those things, but you’re you’re still going to need to at least on the road win the turnover battle. And uh if you can do that, well, we we’ve seen this Bengals team obviously beat the Steelers. So, it is doable, but uh there’s going to be some things that defensively they have to do that they haven’t done over the past couple of weeks, really since that Steelers game, which is it insane to say this, but it’s the last time they won, and it shouldn’t be with the way this offense has played. I mean, they’re they’re one and six since Joe Burrow went down. That that one win against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Their last two games obviously incredibly winnable. They they should have beaten the New York Jets going away. They almost stole one against Chicago, but the defense couldn’t make those plays down the stretch. So, yeah, I mean, generating takeaways is a way that you mask this defense that consistently has issues that can’t get off the field that, oh, they had a couple stops early against the Bears, but actually they didn’t have those stops against the Bears because they had penalties. And when you can’t generate takeaways and you can’t get off the field, well, that’s how you give up an average of like 74 points per week or whatever it is for the Cincinnati Bengals this year. I mean, obviously, it’s been terrible on that side of the ball. But for for the Bengals this game, according to at least one of those playoff leverage charts that that you start to see in the second half of the season, if they lose this game, they’re down to a 2% chance to make the playoffs. If they win this game, they’re up to a 14% chance to make the playoffs. If you just look at the New York Times playoff machine that lets you put if they win, if they lose every week, they give the Bengals a 5% chance to make the playoffs if they win this week. a less than 1% chance to make the playoffs if they lose. So, we’re talking about a long shot in the first place. But I remember having these same conversations last year, James, down the stretch where we’re looking at a team where the the defense can’t get them wins or losing all these close games because they can’t get stops or because the offense can’t score that one more touchdown when they’ve already scored 31 points in a game or 38 points in a game because they continue losing games where somehow they score 38 points and lose. They once again are going to be facing so many of the same narratives as last year except this time there’s a different defensive coordinator and a much younger defense and frankly a team that’s desperate for answers on the defensive side of the ball. Desperate to not be a get-right team and and I remain skeptical that they won’t be a get-right team for Aaron Rogers and the things going on with that Pittsburgh Steelers offense that struggled mightily last week and their loss to the Chargers. So, let’s talk a little bit about this defense and the Aaron Rogers matchup coming up next. Today’s show is brought to you by Prize Picks. Prize Picks is daily fantasy the way it should be. Look, you and I make decisions every day. But on Prize Picks being right, what can get you paid? Don’t miss any of the excitement of well, all of the sports right now. That’s right. All of the sports because you have the NFL, you have the NBA, both in full swing. And if you haven’t tried it yet, prize picks is the simplest way to play. All you do is you pick more or less on at least two player stats. If you get them right, you win. 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And so, not only should they be I don’t know if motivated is the right word, but get a jolt from Joe Burrow potentially returning and and wanting to to give him a a reason to return. But honestly, just the the pride element of it, like just be will more than willing to to say, “All right, well, Jaylen Warren, you’re not going to run for seven plus yards a carry this time around. We are not going to let you run through us. We like that that is it. Like, if I meet you in a hole, I’m gonna hold on until someone else gets there, too.” Worst case, like they aren’t even doing that. And so, the the the bar is really low. But I I do wonder I if if that’s there because it should be because if I’m this defense, how embarrassing is it every single second over the past couple of weeks? It’s it’s it’s really embarrassing and and they should be embarrassed. And how they respond to that I I think is uh is going to say a lot about the the coaches and and the the defense still buying into things. Right. Last time we heard from Gino Stone, he said it’s not the scheme, Jordan Battle, it’s not the scheme. All right. All right. Well, if you’re still really bought in, I think we’ll be able to see that. Even if you do give up points to Aaron Rogers, even if he does beat your safeties and beat your linebackers, you’ll be able to see that want to. So, we’ll see if uh if they come out that way. They should, but will they? I think that’s a big question. Feel like we’ve been asking this question for a while this year, James. I feel like they’ve had ample reason and opportunity to show that they are going to answer the criticism, that they’re going to make adjustments, that they’re going to find ways to play better. And they keep having guys make mistakes in coverage. They keep having guys make mistakes in terms of where they’re supposed to be in run defense. They keep having guys that aren’t playing physical enough. They keep having guys trying to go under blocks in the run game and taking themselves out of the play entirely. They still have guys running the wrong way to literally the wrong side of the field on misdirection on, you know, QB running back options where, you know, you have counter bash or something like that and you’re going with the running back, but the QB keeps it going the other way. You’re going with the QB, but the running back has it going the other way. Too many mistakes like that, right? And when it’s at the point, I keep going back to Al Golden saying, I can’t make it simpler. And I know that, you know, we just talked about like they’ve been taking it on the chin for the last, I don’t know, the whole season, right, from other teams and from the media. And rightly so. You’re talking about one of the worst defenses statistically in the last 25 years, maybe ever. How many times can we ask this question before we stop asking the question? You know what I mean? Like, how many times can we say, “Yeah, they should come out with their hair on fire. Well, maybe they are, and this is the best they can do, right?” Like, yeah, it it should be better. It shouldn’t be one of the worst defenses in 25 years. Even if it’s going to be the worst defense in the NFL this year. Sure. Can it not be the worst we’ve seen in in Duke Tobin’s tenure in many Bengals fans entire lives? Like, yeah, in Joe Burrow’s life, like the worst Bengals defense since he’s been alive and on the planet. Can Can we not do that? That That’s not a very high bar. that’s asking for you to give up 28 points per game instead of 33 points per game. Like not even a full touchdown better, but that feels hard. And I’m, you know, you’re asking these questions like, “Yeah, can they can they come out and play with their hair on fire and show some intensity and and and make some of these corrections?” And I’m like, I don’t know if they can. I’ll believe it when I see it. That that’s where I’m at with the defense right now. Like we’ve seen they they’ve shown us who they are. You know what they say, like when someone shows you who they are, believe them. I need to be shown that there’s something different than what they’ve shown me so far. For sure. Right. I get it. And there’s no reason to believe they’re going to go out there and stop Aaron Rogers. Like there’s no reason to believe that, oh, they’re going to stop this run game that didn’t work against the Chargers. It’s not like that. I mean, I watched a lot of that game. They were lost on offense. And yet when I and I tweeted it out like, “Hey, how many points are the Steelers going to score?” Everyone said 30s and 40s and then there was a bunch of jokes. But that sucks. Like Like if if you were a competent any competent defense would look at this Steelers offense and say you can hold them to 20 or under. And and I’m not saying the Bengals are a competent defense, but it just it’s wild to think that they can’t just do the basic like the basic of basic things. If you’re up late, Gino Stone, make sure that Pat Fabmouth doesn’t have a 68 yard touchdown, right? Don’t give up seven yards per carry. Jordan Battle, Gino Stone, Joshu uh Newton, all these guys could have, should have, would have made that play on Colston Lovel. They didn’t. And so, can they guard the tight end? you know, can can that because everyone’s going to talk about DK Metaf and that’s a huge matchup, right, for DJ Turner again and it it that’s a tough one because of the size difference even if he did play well against him that first go round. So, we’ll uh we’ll see. It’s um it just sucks because I I agree with I I don’t know if there are many answers. And I also think it’s hard to to show that you’re being aggressive and and you’re playing with your hair on fire when you’re not making plays. Like it’s just hard if it’s if the results aren’t there. You’re not going to see the celebration. You’re not going to see the intensity even if there the effort is there. But I just I don’t think the effort’s fully there in that and the missed tackles are why I I I think you can have more you just need to be more focused on some of that stuff. And maybe it’s just because they’re bad and so bad players make mistakes and it might just be that simple. But uh if it is that simple then we’re probably not seeing Joe Burrow again this year. Put it that way. Yeah. I mean we’ll we’ll see how it looks. A lot of it is mentality stuff. I I think like or or or just the way they approach game. Maybe they’re just not physical players, but but physicality is a big part of defense in the NFL. And I I think that’s, you know, if you’re going to talk about tackling, I don’t know how you dismiss physicality as part of it, right? And so I I think that is part of it. But this is a team that may not have Trey Hendrickson back this week. And that’s a big question. Is is Trey Hendrickson going to return to this team in time for it to matter? And these these last couple of games, could you have used Trey Hendrickson when you have a lead late and a sack maybe could effectively end the game or or make it way harder for the Bears or the Jets in the last couple of weeks? Of course. And Zack immediately pronouncing him doubtful early in the week. I mean, that that’s rough for for a defense that’s looking for answers for playmakers. And Trey could have been a bit of a shot in the arm. Like he’s not going to fix everything. Obviously, we’ve seen the defense with him give up plenty of points, but the way the pass rush has been and one of the ways you beat Aaron Rogers, you get pressure to him. Obviously, if you can’t get pressure to him, I mean, the way Rogers was running around on this Bengals defense the last time they played, he has not done that to to other teams this year, man. that that’s a a unique experience for him this year that now he has a chance to to run back as he’s looking to bounce back from his worst game of the year. I think he’s had a couple rough ones this year, but completing just 50% of his passes, two interceptions, five and a half or about five yards per attempt against the Chargers in in a game where the Steelers score 10. Don’t be a get-right team for once. Maybe like maybe that’s just too much to ask, but that’s all I’m asking. Yeah, that’s right. Yeah, it’s uh show us who you are and maybe this is who they are. They just suck. Fine. But if there’s any hope, if there’s any anything, if there’s any will, desire, or anything that you that has been untapped, you mentioned mentality, you’re you’re going to have to show it this week, especially if you don’t have Trey, which is really that’s weird. I you know I for those watching I I haven’t been in Cincinnati this week so I I um I don’t have maybe the intel that I normally would but that that whole thing is just uh it’s weird. I thought he’d be close put it that way close to a return if not playing something to to obviously keep an eye on into the weekend. But even if the defense lays an egg and they largely laid an egg last time these teams played but they had those couple of takeaways mixed in. That’s why we talk about it again this week. The offense for the Bengals has been rolling and the Steelers are, as Chris Carter told me on the crossover, shaping their defense essentially around what the Bengals do to them. And this has been a trend since the offseason. Let’s get to the offense to finish out the show, which gives you a little bit of hope in this team or at least makes them fun to watch. Coming up next, NFL season is in full swing and maybe you’re thinking, should I go to Pittsburgh? Will I go to Pittsburgh? Well, look, Game Time is the app you can use to get the best seats. And to make that process, which can be complicated, really easy. It’s fast, it’s easy. Every ticket is backed by the Game Time Guarantee. You always get 100% authentic tickets delivered on time and at the best price with Game Time. All of the fees are included, so the price you see is the price you pay. I’ve used Game Time multiple times. uh just this year went to the Eastern Conference Finals in Indianapolis, went and saw a comedy show at Taff Theater in downtown Cincinnati. It was a breeze. It’s fast, it’s cheap, and it’s certainly less stressful uh than buying tickets anywhere else. Download the Game Time app, create an account, use code locked on NFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, that’s promo code locked on NFL, L O C D O N for $20 off. Swipe, tap, ticket, go. download game time today. If you’re gonna have any hope with this team, it’s that the offense has been the number one EPA for play offense since Joe Flacco took over. It’s that the running game has figured things out largely since Joe Flacco took over, especially in the last few weeks, especially against Pittsburgh the last time around, especially against New York. And as teams continue to try to take away Jamar Chase and T Higgins, they’re opening up opportunities for the Bengals in the run game. the Bengals have been able to take advantage of those. I think another injury that’s worth keeping an eye on this week is Sam Perine’s high ankle sprain that he suffered on that hip drop tackle on the kickoff return because he’s been a big part of being able to spell Chase Brown and both of those guys have been very effective for the Bengals in the run game. But so has Joe Flacco when the run game wasn’t as productive as it had been against the Bears. Joe Flacco goes for 470 and spreads the ball around to T. Higgins and Jamar Chase and have seven receivers go over 20 yards per catch. And meanwhile, the Steelers are looking at, boy, we actually can’t handle these elite receivers in man coverage. And as a result, as Chris Carter told me on the crossover, they’re going to all this too high work and they’re moving Jaylen Ramsey to free safety and they’re making all these adjustments on defense which are essentially because the Bengals punched him in the mouth and they didn’t have answers for the Cincinnati Bengals as they spent their offseason trying to bring in DBs to deal with the Bengals wide receivers. That plan didn’t work. Now they’re trying to find schematic answers to it in Pittsburgh. And that’s been a big part of the story over there on the defensive side of the ball where they have stepped up the pass rush in the last couple of weeks. They’ve gotten home for five sacks in each of the last two weeks. So, we’ll see how those adjustments hit this week where the team that drove a lot of these changes it seems like for Pittsburgh is now there to then test those changes again that are from the Steelers perspective tailor made to try to deal with what the Bengals are doing on offense. Yeah, I think one one theme this week has been, oh, what’s the difference between Joe Burrow and Joe Fleck? Like, the offense has been great. it’s just like last year. And it’s like, no, it’s it’s not just like last year. This offensive line has played better like like they’ve done enough in the run game and and pass protection wise. And I think Zack Taylor deserves credit and and Dan Pitcher and obviously Scott Peter’s the offensive line coach, but everything has been built around, hey, Joe Flacco can’t move. How do we get the ball out of his hands? How do we make this work? How do we utilize our weapons? How do we get more explosive in the run game? They weren’t explosive in the run game last year, right? the past couple of weeks they have been the past couple of games. And so that that that’s huge. And and I think if you go out there and you just say you do the too high thing, Joe Flacco doesn’t have to push it super deep, he’ll hit you underneath. He’ll be fine with that. The He’s patient enough. He’s shown that certainly throughout this stretch of games that he’s played in. And so this offense said it all year. It’s not going to change. If if this Bengals team is going to make a run here, the offense is gonna have to be wide. And it’s it’s not fair, but they’re probably going to have to close this game out like they did against the Steelers on October 16th on Thursday Night Football. And so the the bar is really high for them for them to hit. And and it isn’t fair. But guess what? if if you’re trying to recover from three and six and you’re trying to win the division and you’re trying to do all of those things, well, it’s not going to be. And and so I I think the the main thing here is all right, well, can you continue whatever the Steelers do on defense, can you continue to keep 16 upright so he can get the ball to those weapons and and can you be explosive on the ground? And if you do those things, then you’re going to be there regardless of this defense. you’re going to be in the hunt and and and in the mix against the Steelers on the road when the game’s on the line in the fourth quarter. I I think that’s it. So, that’s one and and two, if you are there, unlike the Jets game, you you have to finish it. You have to be the one if if you punt the ball back to Aaron Rogers, you just can’t bank on this defense. Even if they have to go 96 yards, like if I’m Zach Taylor and it’s fourth and four late in the fourth quarter, you’re up two at the 50 or or even at your own 40. I mean, I you you’d almost be really tempted to go for it because you just don’t want to give the ball back assuming the defense is what it’s been. So, there’s a lot of pressure on this offense. I do think that they have the answers. Even though Joe Flacco is limited in some ways, they’ve been able to to hide that because of their strengths. And one of their strengths has been this offensive line and how they’ve been able to to hold up enough. I’m not saying they’re one of the best lines in the league. They don’t need to be. They’ve been better during this stretch than at any point over the past couple of years. There’s no doubt. Yeah. And it is going to be tested again this week, probably to a more significant degree than we’ve seen in the last dudes over there. is coming on too. Yeah, guys that are coming on like Nick Herbig healthier probably going to be a bigger part of that rotation. Obviously TJ Watt, Alex Heismith, Cam Hayward, like those guys are all still guys. Keanu Benton playing better in the last couple of weeks because like the the biggest surprise to me was how the Bengals handled the Steelers interior in that game in the run game and and managed to open up really great running lanes. the the Steelers have a linebacker issue the way the Bengals have a linebacker issue. It’s not quite as bad there, but Patrick Queen’s been pretty terrible for them. Pton Wilson’s been okay. But that there is is it Wilson? Maybe I’m forgetting a name again. But there is a linebacker problem. No, it’s Pton Wilson. And you get in my head about names, James, and it just totally disrupts the flow of the puck. Man, look at what you did. Anyway, I joke what I did that the Steelers do have plenty of issues that they’ve been dealing with on defense this year, but it has improved in the last few weeks, especially in the pass rush. So, when we talk about the offensive line, the way that they’ve been able to mitigate pass rushes, the way that Joe Flacco has been able to get rid of the ball quickly. The goal for the Steelers is if I’m the Steelers anyway in this game, I’m probably coming out and playing brackets and true doubles and clouds on Jamar and T the entire game and say, “Okay, if I if we take away Jamar and T, how quickly can you, Joe Flacco, get to your third option and how quickly can that third option uncover and and be in a position where you don’t have to put the ball in harm’s way? and can we deal with your run game with six guys? And and that’s the the challenge for the Steelers this week because teams that haven’t been able to deal with the Bengals run game with six guys when they’re dedicating extra resources to perimeter receivers, those are the teams the Bengals have been able to punish and and we’ve seen it a couple of times and and against the Bears, Joe Flacco found answers from the third options. Like like I said, they had seven guys go for explosive catches in that game. Andre Yosvage, Noah Fant, Mitch Tinsley down the roster, Chase Brown using the running back in the receiving game. So if the Bengals have those answers and obviously Jamar and T are still going to win occasionally even if you do dedicate all that attention to them because they’re that good, then you can keep going on offense. But if you’re the Steelers, you make them prove like, okay, can you beat us outside of Jamar T? Can you hold up in protection for a third option to get open? Can you continue to create those run lanes that you did against us last week, but can you do it on the road? Because the Bengals were just playing all this offensive success has come at home for the Bengals. Can you do it on the road with Joe Flacco in a hostile AFC North environment? Those are the questions that that we’re going to get answers to for this defense this week. That’s where the difference with Joe Burrow and Joe Flacco is. Like we’re we’re always going to have that question waiting for the other shoe to drop, I think, on this offense where like we’ve seen it with Joe Flacco over the years. I love what he’s done so far, but we’ve seen it in the last few years where it hasn’t sustained when he’s been with some of the teams that he’s been with. And some of that’s a situation he’s been in for sure. And he hasn’t had these weapons and he hasn’t in Cincinnati. And there’s a clear plan of attack for this offense. But, uh, very interested to see how they come out of this bye on the offensive side of the ball to see if they can keep up what has been a torid pace on that side of the ball. Yeah, it’s they’re going to get hit with a few curve balls and so will they move up in the box and be able to to make it work and continue to be a 30 plus point per game offense like they need to be like that’s what they need them to be. And so when you mentioned that I was thinking like Andre Yosvage hopefully he can build off of how he ended that Chicago game where where it was just big play after big play. Um, and and I think that was a big a big moment for him. Even though it wasn’t a loss, he goes into the buy. Personally, feeling good about how he kind of wrapped up things in the first half of the season after some struggles. Noah Fant is another one like you need him. And I do think that there’s a level of Chase Brown that we saw last year that we still haven’t seen yet this year. and and I I’m not saying he needs to go for 200 from scrimmage or anything like that, but like he’s capable of catching 10 passes and having 100 yards receiving and also having 100 yards rushing like that that’s that’s something he’s capable of doing. And so do they get that? Like what shoe drops? Is it the offense comes back to earth or is it Chase Brown goes off and has his best game of the year? Noah Fant has a huge game or Andre Yosvage. That’s probably what we’re looking at here because yeah, if you’re Mike Tomlin today, you say, “All right, I’m not letting Jamar Chase beat us.” Even though he’s probably going to get his anyway, he can quietly have 100 yards and T. Higgins, I’m not going to let you go do freakish T. Higgins things. Maybe they do anyway, but that’s got to be the game plan for the Steelers and really any team that plays this Bengals team. Don’t let those two guys beat you and live with everything else. Those other guys have to step up. So the Steelers can’t live uh with everything else whether it’s Chase Brown, Andre Yosvash, Noah Fant, etc. Haven’t talked about football in a pretty long time here, James. We we it’s kind of felt like the offseason for a couple weeks, right? Like you have the the trade deadline and weird offseason topics, talking about the future of things through the by-week, and now we’re back to football games. We’ll have you covered here after the game on Sunday. play the Bengals of course on the road in Pittsburgh and we’ll see what the mood is here postgame James if there’s a flicker of hope or just more despair and there’s been too much of that after Bengals games since Joe Burrow went down this year. We’ll have you covered here on Locked on Bengals. Until then, thanks for listening to this episode of the Lockdown Bengals podcast who day and have a good one.

Cincinnati Bengals face a must-win battle against the Pittsburgh Steelers as playoff hopes hang by a thread. Can Joe Burrow’s potential return ignite the team, or will defensive miscues keep them in the NFL’s basement? James Rapien and Jake Liscow break down playoff scenarios, divisional stakes, and the impact of Trey Hendrickson’s injury. The defense faces scrutiny–will they finally shed the “get right” label or continue to disappoint against Aaron Rodgers and a struggling Steelers offense?

The conversation spotlights the Bengals’ surging offense led by Joe Flacco, Chase Brown, and Ja’Marr Chase, examining whether increased explosiveness and offensive innovation can overcome defensive woes. Expect analysis of key matchups, Pittsburgh’s adjustments in pass coverage, and how Cincinnati’s offensive line and third-option receivers might provide answers. With playoff leverage on the line, will the Bengals’ resilience shine, or is this season already lost?

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