Chad Johnson is right on the money about why the Bengals’ heated rivals are in an unfamiliar place
Johnson explains his take on what’s going on with the Bengals’ AFC North rival.
Former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson may not have always beaten the Pittsburgh Steelers, but his take on what’s going on with them upon Mike Tomlin’s stepping down as head coach is the plain truth.
Johnson told former Steelers defensive back Ryan Clark on Inside the NFL that Pittsburgh mistakenly didn’t find Tomlin a proper replacement for Ben Roethlisberger in the back-half of Tomlin’s 19-year run with the club.
“I think one thing that they did do wrong that they should have been a very long time ago, and I think this is a problem where you have to be able to compartmentalize and not be too friendly with your players, because they should have already had Ben Roethlisberger’s successor on that team,” Johnson told former Steelers defensive back Ryan Clark on Inside The NFL. “So not willing to draft, not willing to prepare once Ben Roethlisberger goes, not willing to upset him during that time when he was there, that is one of the issues that the Steelers are running into right now. Not being able to find a quarterback or someone that had that favorable option.”
Pittsburgh now needs a new coach and quarterback
Johnson faced Roethlisberger’s Steelers 14 times and lost 10 of those battles, but the Bengals have been much more competitive against the Steelers during Big Ben’s decline and following his retirement. The rivalry is an even 6-6 since 2020 when Joe Burrow was drafted, and Roethlisberger was in his penultimate season.
Tomlin kept Pittsburgh competitive, but operating without a high-level QB in recent years made it much more difficult for the Steel Curtain to reign supreme. Now the club needs a coach and signal-caller.
The coach will come soon, but finding the QB may take an uncomfortable season from the Steelers.
Ryan Clark expects Steelers to bottom-out in 2026
Cincinnati found its franchise QB with the No. 1 overall pick following a 2-14 season. Clark didn’t provide a record, but he believes Pittsburgh is headed toward a season with enough losses to position themselves to draft a new face of the franchise.
“I’m afraid it’s going to be a total rebuild,” Clark said. “This isn’t going to be another year where you get to fight your way into the playoffs with the roster that shouldn’t be there. You probably won’t have that type of coach. You won’t have that type of roster. This is an overpriced defense, a 42-year old quarterback [whose] main reason for being in Pittsburgh was Mike Tomlin, so Aaron Rodgers won’t be back. You have to find somebody to play that position. You have to find somebody to lead this team. I think this is the first year in 20 years, the Pittsburgh Steelers will have a losing record, and they need that.”
Pittsburgh had the coach and QB for many years and went one out of two in Super Bowls with them. Finding a new duo of the future may take time and losing, which only plays into the Bengals’ favor in the interim.
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