Bengals will need to overcome two major obstacles the NFL put in front of them vs Steelers
The spotlight has been hard for the Cincinnati Bengals to escape this season. They've already played a franchise-record five primetime games through 16 contests, and the NFL opted to give them one more to close out the season with their playoff hopes still alive. Saturday's 8pm ET kickoff against the Pittsburgh Steelers will not only be […]
The spotlight has been hard for the Cincinnati Bengals to escape this season. They've already played a franchise-record five primetime games through 16 contests, and the NFL opted to give them one more to close out the season with their playoff hopes still alive.
Saturday's 8pm ET kickoff against the Pittsburgh Steelers will not only be the Bengals' sixth primetime game of the season, it will be their fifth primetime game on the road.
The fact that it's against an AFC North rival only adds another layer of difficulty for Cincinnati.
Bengals set to take on all-time, recent history vs Steelers
The NFL's decision to put the Bengals back in primetime was one for the history books. Per BengalsTalk.com's Jay Morrison, the Bengals will have played the most road primetime games for any team in NFL history when the game concludes.
When the original schedule was unveiled all the way back in May, the Bengals had five total primetime games with three on the road and two at home. The league flexed them out of their second home primetime game when Week 16's matchup against the Cleveland Browns was moved from Thursday night to the following Sunday afternoon. Before then, Week 11's game at the Los Angeles Chargers was flexed to "Sunday Night Football."
Being flexed into primetime more times than being flexed out is obviously a positive thing to happen since those games matter in the grand scheme of the league, but it is typically an advantage to play those games at home in the Bengals' neighborhood.
Going back to head coach Zac Taylor's first year in 2019, road teams are 2-13 in AFC North primetime matchups per The Athletic's Paul Dehner Jr. The last team to win on the road was the Steelers in a 16-13 victory over the Baltimore Ravens almost exactly two years ago.
Winning in this division is tough. Throw in a late-window atmosphere for the home fans, and it makes it significantly harder. The Bengals have never won a game like this under Taylor in the six opportunities they've had. They need to break that streak if they hope to make the playoffs.
The Steelers are possibly the hardest opponent to topple in this environment as well. They're 8-2 in their last 10 home primetime games and haven't lost to the Bengals at home in primetime since 1995. That was a year before Joe Burrow was born. What's another streak longer than his life for Burrow to break?
Cincinnati currently has a 17% chance at cracking the postseason. These nuggets don't factor into that percentage, but they may as well.
If the Bengals beat the odds, they'll certainly have earned it.
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Cincinnati needs plenty of help in Week 18 to make the playoffs.
