This weekend, the Pittsburgh Steelers will take on the Cincinnati Bengals.
The last time the Steelers lost to the Bengals was in 2015.
Rookie QB, Joe Burrow, will face the large task of dethroning the last unbeaten team in the NFL.
The Steelers are now 8-0 after just squeaking out a victory in Dallas.
In that game, Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger, injured both knees.
The Steelers are expecting that he plays this week.
Steelers HC Mike Tomlin is also excited that he doesn’t need to worry about Carlos Dunlap anymore.
Tomlin Excited That Dunlap Is Out Of The AFC North
Prior to the NFL trade deadline, the Bengals shipped Dunlap out to Seattle.
Dunlap was disgruntled in Cincinnati and wanted a change of scenery.
More on the trade of #Bengals DE Carlos Dunlap to the #Seahawks: Seattle sends OL BJ Finney to Cincy along with a pick, per @TomPelissero and me.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 28, 2020
He sure did look good in his Seahawks debut as he had 2.5 sacks and 3 tackles for loss.
Pittsburgh Steelers HC Mike Tomlin, discussed Dunlap in one of his weekly pressers.
Tomlin: "It is interesting preparing for the Bengals and not having to prepare for Carlos Dunlap. We do not miss Carlos Dunlap (chuckles)."
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) November 10, 2020
Tomlin understands that they still need to worry about DT Geno Atkins clogging the middle, but he sure is blowing a sigh of relief as Dunlap will not be on the field.
If Big Ben does indeed play, the Steelers will turn to their run game to help take some of the pressure off of him.
The Bengals do have a losing record and are in the process of rebuilding, but, they cannot be slept on.
They recently upset the Tennessee Titans and Joe Burrow has proved he belongs in this league.
Cincinnati has had some fun on social media, calling it “Steelers week”.
Steelers Week 😤 pic.twitter.com/IKWEMIdump
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) November 10, 2020
The Steelers have dominated the Bengals for the last 4 years.
Pittsburgh cannot look ahead to next week or else, they may lose their first game of the season.
Pittsburgh Steelers Remain As The Only Unbeaten
The Pittsburgh Steelers are perfect halfway through the season.
They have picked up nice early wins over the Eagles, Browns, Ravens, and Titans.
Looking ahead, their schedule is quite favorable as their toughest game remaining is the Baltimore Ravens.
They also have the Buffalo Bills towards the end of the season, but besides that, they have a favorable chance of closing out the season 13-3 or potentially, 14-2.
As alluded to earlier, Big Ben sustained knee injuries during the win in Dallas, but it appears he will be good to go this weekend.
#Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger sustained injuries to both knees on Sunday, but after tests today, there is cautious optimism that he’ll be healthy enough to play vs the #Bengals. While both knees got trapped, his feet not being stuck in the turf saved him from major injury.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 9, 2020
The Pittsburgh Steelers will once again turn to their dominant defense this weekend.
We've recorded at least 1️⃣ sack in 6️⃣5️⃣ consecutive games 💪
That's the longest streak in regular season franchise history and the second-longest streak in NFL history 👀 pic.twitter.com/N3nkdKTAYd
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) November 10, 2020
This defense is one of the best in the league at applying pressure on the quarterback.
With early defensive player of the year candidate, T.J. Watt, leading the way, the Steelers have the most sacks (32) in the NFL.
The good news for them is one of the vulnerabilities of this young Cincinnati team is their offensive line.
Joe Burrow is currently the 2nd most sacked quarterback in the NFL, being sacked 28 times.
One of the reasons the Bengals were able to upset the Titans was due to the lack of pass rush Tennessee has.
But, this Pittsburgh team is a whole other story.
It might be a long day for Burrow if the Steelers dial up the pressure.
NEXT: Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger Placed On COVID-19 List
