Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cincinnati Bengals
Steelers and Bengals meet for AFC North lead on Sunday night, both 6-2
Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals have been on a record run during their four-game winning streak.
The only things that may slow them down heading into Sunday night's AFC North showdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers are the NFL scheduling office and jet lag.
The Bengals and Steelers are tied atop the division with a 6-2 record. Cincinnati is off to its best start since 2015 after a 31-17 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Madrid. It is also the first time they have won four straight and scored at least 30 points.
Pittsburgh has won four straight and five of its past six. It comes into the game rested after having its bye last week.
Teams are 5-0 when coming off a bye and their opponent played the week before in an international game. It is 3-0 when that opponent's game was in Europe. This is the second straight year the Steelers are coming off a bye and facing a team that played internationally.
Even though the Bengals are fighting history, coach Zac Taylor does think facing a division opponent offers some benefits.
“You're able to get started a little quicker because you know the personnel. You’re always going to make sure you comb through the scheme of what they’re doing, and they’ve evolved as the season goes,” Taylor said.
Burrow leads the league in completion rate, passing yards per game and passing touchdowns. He passed for 282 yards and three touchdowns during the first meeting on Sept. 27, but Derrick Harmon’s strip-sack on Cincinnati’s final drive allowed Pittsburgh to hold on for a 30-27 victory.
The seventh-year franchise quarterback has at least three TD passes in each of the past four games. Tee Higgins has hauled in five touchdowns during the Bengals' winning streak, and Ja’Marr Chase has 32 receptions for 435 yards and four touchdowns.
“Some guys would rather play at 1. I’d rather play every game, Sunday night, ‘Monday Night Football.’ I want to be able to showcase what we do and how hard we work. This is a big moment for it,” Burrow said.
The Bengals' defense has struggled against the run and when going up against Jaylen Warren. The Steelers' fifth-year running back has two 100-yard games in the past three meetings against the Bengals, who are 25th in the league in run defense and allowing an NFL-high 5.04 yards per carry.
Warren is in the midst of a career year and leads the NFL with 5.92 yards per carry. He had 176 yards from scrimmage in the first meeting with Cincinnati.
Pittsburgh's passing game has struggled to generate much downfield, but Aaron Rodgers could get one of his top options back this week in wide receiver Michael Pittman, who has been sidelined the past four weeks because of a foot injury.
Rodgers has been pleased with Pittsburgh's start, but realizes the focus remains on what they can accomplish down the road.
“When you win, sometimes you can gloss over some areas that need improvement if you want to get to where you want to get to, so I think that’s the important thing that experience gives you, is that even though we are 6-2, we’re playing for the division lead again this week," he said. "We need to hold ourselves to a standard of winning in the playoffs and winning in January and February, and we need to climb to that standard.”
Sunday night's game also marks the first time that Mike Tomlin will see his former team in person. Tomlin led the Steelers for 19 seasons before resigning at the end of last season and joining NBC Sports as an analyst for its pregame, halftime and postgame coverage.
“I look forward to it because of the relationship, but you know me, I’m capable of compartmentalizing and getting hyper-focused on the job,” Tomlin said during a teleconference on Wednesday. “It certainly will be fun to see some guys I’ve got relationships with. There will certainly be a lot of those. But they have a job to do, I have a job to do. So, I’m sure everyone is going to be focused on the task at hand.”
Pittsburgh (6-2) at Cincinnati (6-2)
When/where to watch: Sunday, 8:20 p.m. EST, NBC.
Latest odds: Bengals by 3 1/2
Against the spread: Steelers 6-2; Bengals 4-4
Last week: Steelers had a bye; Bengals beat the Falcons 31-17 in Madrid
Last meeting: Steelers beat Bengals 30-27, on Sept. 27, 2026, in Pittsburgh.
Series record: Steelers lead 73-41
Pittsburgh RB Jaylen Warren vs. Cincinnati LBs Barrett Carter and Demetrius Knight Jr.: Warren is averaging 64.4 yards after contact in the rushing game and also had 49 receiving yards in the first meeting. Carter and Knight have struggled in coverage as well as being consistent in tackling. Both have nine missed tackles.
— This is the seventh time the Steelers and Bengals have met with first place in the AFC North on the line. In five of the previous six instances, the winner went on to take the division that season.
— Pittsburgh's 18 road wins on Sunday night are tied with Green Bay for the second most in the NFL.
— Aaron Rodgers' 85 touchdown passes on Sunday night are the most.
— Pittsburgh has sacked Burrow 24 times in eight meetings with the 2020 No. 1 overall pick. The Steelers are tied for fourth in the NFL with 26 sacks this season entering Week 10.
— Cincinnati is the only team this season that ranks in the top five both in red zone offensive TD percent (22 of 32, 68.8%) and red zone defensive TD percent (12 of 28, 42.9%).
— Cincinnati's Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Mike Gesicki are the second trio in NFL history to each have at least six receiving touchdowns through a team’s first eight games of a season. The other was Wes Welker, Julius Thomas and Demaryius Thomas of the 2013 Denver Broncos.
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AP Sports Writer Will Graves in Pittsburgh contributed to this story.
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