If there was ever a must-win game, it was this one.

How can the Bengals sweep the Steelers?

Adjust in Game

It is hard to beat any team twice. The Bengals must anticipate the Steelers’ adjustments after their first matchup and be ready to make adjustments of their own.

The Bengals threw for 342 yards and rushed for 142 yards in their first matchup, but the biggest thing that hurt the Steelers was Ja’Marr Chase. Chase had 16 receptions for 161 yards and a touchdown on 23 targets. Tee Higgins, Andrei Iosivas, and Noah Fant must be ready to...

On this week’s all-new installment of Matt and Willie Know Ball, the ball-knowers hit on the two biggest topics of the bye week.

1. Joe Burrow returns to practice and eyes a Thanksgiving return to the field.
2. What can the defense do to get good enough that number one even matters?

So what is the Burrow effect?

True, the Bengals defense may have given 88 points in the last two weeks, but if the Bengals had 17 seconds and Joseph Lee Burrow after Colson Loveland scored his go-ahead touchdown for the Bears, wouldn’t you have felt better about the...

The Cincinnati Bengals are headed to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers in a matchup that is crucial for the Bengals’ slim playoff chances. The team released its final injury report, ruling out four players.

Joe Burrow (toe) is out, but he was never expected to play this week. He is still on injured reserve, so he still doesn’t count as a roster spot. Reports are that Burrow is targeting Thanksgiving as his return date.

Defensive end Trey Hendrickson (hip/pelvis) is out, as expected. Hendrickson has not practiced in nearly three weeks, so it was always a long shot to...

Can the Bengals find a way to sweep the season series with the Steelers? After dropping to 3-6 my initial answer would have been absolutely not. After watching the Steelers struggle again on Sunday Night Football I am not so sure. I still have very little faith in the defense, especially knowing that Trey Hendrickson is doubtful to play again this week. Let’s take a look at a couple of players on the defense that will need to step their game up this week for the Bengals to have any chance of pulling off the victory.

DJ Turner

Turner...

(NR) Clemson at (15) Louisville Friday 7:30 p.m. ET

Clemson was a team that was expected to compete for a National Championship this season. There season has been a major disappointment, to say the least. They will need a win at Louisville Friday night just to get back to .500 on the season. If they are going to do, a player like Peter Woods will need to have a good game. Woods is the best defensive tackle prospect that should be in the draft this year. He boasts over a 17% win-rate on true pass sets, combined with a...

2026 NFL free agency: Early top-25 ranking and predictions
What he brings: Hendrickson is a relentless defender off the edge with a deep toolbox of counters and a knack for making plays late in the down. Hendrickson has four sacks this season, and his 17.5 sacks and 65 pressures in 2024 were both league highs. He would be an immediate upgrade for just about any team. — Bowen

Quick Hits | Big Brother Ja’Marr Chase Welcomes Back Joe Burrow As Joe Flacco Preps For Another 40something Match With Steelers
“You kind of put me in a spot right now,” Chase...

The Cincinnati Bengals have invested ten out of their last thirteen picks in the first three rounds on the defensive side of the ball. Some of those picks you could realize at the time, they were picking those players at least a round above where they should be taken. At other times, they have taken players around the range they were expected to go, yet the player has not developed during their time in Cincinnati. It is fair to think they have a problem in both evaluating and developing talent on the defensive side of the ball.

Let’s take a...

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase told the media that Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers is a “must-win” if they want to win the AFC North, and looking at the team’s official injury report, their defense could be a concern as they try to move to 3-0 in the division.

Defensive end Trey Hendrickson (hip/pelvis) was again not on the practice field. As Head Coach Zac Taylor stated, Hendrickson will be doubtful for Sunday’s contest. With each practice he misses, that doubtful designation is looking more like a definitive no.

Fellow defensive end Shemar Stewart (knee) was also a...

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The NFL wants to put an end to the annual team report cards, per a report by ESPN’s Seth Wickersham and Don Van Natta Jr.

The report cards grade franchises on 11 categories related to things like the quality of their nutritionist/dietician, food/dining services, and how they treat families.

In case you’re curious, the Cincinnati Bengals finished last in those three categories, with grades of C, F, and F- respectively.

Overall, the Bengals finished a somewhat respectable 24 out of 32 franchises, partly due to rebuilding the training room and locker room, increasing the number of meals provided, and hiring...

The playoff hopes of the Cincinnati Bengals (3-6) are hanging by a thread.

If they can win on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers (5-4), they’ll be right back in the thick of the division race with Joe Burrow nearing a return.

If they lose, the team might just let Joe Flacco finish out the year and start looking to next year.

Meanwhile, Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers is coming off his worst performance this year in a loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. He will look to take out his frustration on a Cincinnati team that snuck by last game.

Even...

The trade deadline has come and gone. No one is coming to save the Cincinnati Bengals defense. They have to figure it out with the guys they have.

The Bengals have a habit of waiting until the bye week to make sweeping schematic changes that fix big problems.

Here is what they need to do to get back on track.

How to Fix the Pass Rush

Step one: Get Trey Hendrickson healthy.

Step two: Keep Trey Hendrickson healthy.

That means keeping his snap counts down in the high 30s or low 40s.

Step three: Let him eat.

Trey Hendrickson...