Matt's Stats: Week 11 vs. Bengals

SERIES HISTORY

This series began in 1970, and Pittsburgh leads it 71-41. Two of those games occurred in the postseason, in 2006 and 2016, with the Steelers winning both of those contests. Pittsburgh was recently on an 11-game winning streak between December, 2015 to November, 2020. Cincinnati has won just 15 of the 53 games between these divisional rivals that have been played in the 2000s. Mike Tomlin is 27-13 vs. Cincinnati, including a playoff win in 2016.

MATCHUP OVERVIEW

• The Bengals won the first meeting of the year, 33-31, on Thursday night to open Week 7 in Cincinnati. Cincinnati is coming off their bye week, and are amid a two-game losing streak. The Bengals only win since Week 2 is against Pittsburgh.
• Cincinnati is 2-0 in the division. Pittsburgh is 1-1. The Steelers are 2-2 at Acrisure Stadium this season while Cincinnati is 1-3 on the road.
• The Bengals have a -84-point differential. Only two teams are worse. Pittsburgh now sits at -8.
• The Bengals have a -5-turnover differential, 26^th in the league. The Steelers lost the turnover battle 3-0 last week but are still +6 for the season. Only three teams have a better turnover differential than Pittsburgh, who have the third most takeaways (16) in the league. Cincinnati's 14 giveaways are the seventh most. The Steelers have eight takeaways via fumble recovery. The Bengals have one. That is most and least in the league.
• Pittsburgh has only won one game this season in which they didn't win the turnover battle. Pittsburgh is 4-0 in games this season in which they have won the turnover battle and 4-1 in games that record even just one takeaway.
• Cincinnati held the ball for 34:32 in these teams' first meeting. Pittsburgh only held the ball for 22:25 last week. For the season, the Bengals are last in time of possession (26:49) and the Steelers are 31^st (27:00).
• The Bengals have a -9-sack differential. The Steelers are at +14.
• Cincinnati's opponents have produced 11 more touchdowns, 41 more first downs, 33 more rushing first downs, 111 more rushing attempts, 1.2 more yards per rush attempt, 87.6 more rushing yards per game, seven more rushing touchdowns, and 110.8 more overall yards per game than the Bengals.
• Pittsburgh's opponents have produced 56 more first downs, 670 more passing yards, 939 more total yards, and have run 127 more plays.
• The Steelers have scored 23 touchdowns in 2025, as have their opponents.
• The Bengals average 78.8 rushing yards per game, lowest in the league. Pittsburgh is at 85.7.
• The Steelers and Bengals each have five rushing touchdowns, only ahead of the Titans, Saints, and Raiders.
• The Bengals and Steelers are tied (65.4%) for the league's eighth best red zone offense. However, Pittsburgh's defense is ninth best (54.6%) and Cincinnati's is 30^th (69.8%).
• The Steelers have gone for it on fourth down seven times this season. Their collective opponents have gone for it on 24 occasions.
• The Cowboys defense allows 39.9 yards per drive, most in the league. The Bengals allow the second most (39.2) and the Steelers allow the third most (38.1).
• Only three teams are worse than Cincinnati in points per drive differential as well as touchdowns per drive differential.
• Only the Eagles are worse than the Steelers in three and outs per drive differential.
• A total of 79.2% of Cincinnati's touchdowns have come via passing, the highest percentage in the league. A total of 78.3% of Pittsburgh's touchdowns have come via passing, fourth highest.
• The Bengals have been penalized 47 times and Pittsburgh 54 times. That is the second and fifth fewest respectively.
• Dating back to 1990, teams that start the season 6-4 go to the postseason 58.5% of the time compared to 30.5% for 5-5 teams.
• Last week Aaron Rodgers became the fifth quarterback in NFL history with 250+ career starts. With his next game with multiple touchdowns passes, Aaron Rodgers will break a tie with Peyton Manning for the third most such games in NFL history. Rodgers and Manning currently have 165 such games.
• Joe Flacco and Rodgers both became starting quarterbacks in 2008. Rodgers has the most passing yards and touchdowns since 2008. Flacco is eighth in passing yards and 11^th in passing touchdowns during that time.

WHEN PITTSBURGH HAS THE BALL

• The Steelers average 5.1 yards per play, but just 4.4 over their most recent three games. Cincinnati's defense allows 6.4 yards per play (last in the league) and 7.4 over their past three games.
• Pittsburgh is in 11 Personnel just 34.3% of the time, the lowest percentage in the league. They use 12 Personnel at a 33.7% clip and 13 Personnel 16.2% of their offensive snaps. That is the seventh highest percentage of 12 Personnel and the second highest of 13 Personnel behind only the Rams. The Rams are the only offense that employs multiple tight ends at a higher rate than Pittsburgh. The Steelers have used an extra offensive lineman on 11.7% of their snaps.
• Pittsburgh's offense runs just 55.0 plays per game, the fewest in the NFL. They average 2.49 points per drive, eighth highest. Only the Cowboys (3.06) defense allows more points per drive than Cincinnati (2.99) and they are tied with Dallas for most touchdowns allowed (.37) per drive.
• The Steelers average 29.2 yards per drive, seventh fewest. Pittsburgh has the third most three and outs per drive and the fifth fewest (5.63) plays per drive. Only four defenses are worse at creating three and outs than Cincinnati's.
• Pittsburgh's offense averages 280.7 yards per game.
• The Bengals 33.3 points allowed per game is worst in the league and the most in a single season since the 1966 Giants and their 426.6 yards allowed per game is the second highest in the Super Bowl era. Cincinnati has allowed 24+ points in eight straight games.
• The Steelers are throwing the ball on 59.4% of their snaps, the 10^th highest percentage in the league. Over their past three games, Pittsburgh is throwing it 66.1% of the time.
• Pittsburgh is turning a set of downs into a new set of downs or a touchdown at a 68% rate, better than only five offenses. Cincinnati's defense is 80%, worst in the league.
• Despite already having his bye week, Rodgers' 18 touchdown passes are tied for fifth most in the league.
• Among quarterbacks with at least 100 dropbacks, Rodgers and Dillon Gabriel are tied with the lowest (6.2) average depth of target. His 2.35 average time to throw is quickest in the league. On pass attempts of 10+ yards downfield, Rodgers has only completed 40.3% of his attempts. A total of 65.2% of the Rodgers passing yardage have come via after the catch, the highest percentage in the league.
• In Rodgers first appearance with the Steelers against Cincinnati, he threw for 249 yards and four touchdowns. All four of Rodgers touchdowns were on passes targeted between the numbers in that game. In that game, Rodgers averaged a season-high 9.1 air yards per attempt.
• The Steelers have six different players with 20+ receptions. That is tied for the most with New England and San Francisco.
• Only the Commanders (10.4) allow more yards per target to receivers aligned in the slot than Cincinnati (9.3).
• A total of 50.9% of the targets against the Bengals have gone to wide receivers, the lowest rate in the league. Tight ends have a league high 30.4% of targets against Cincinnati.
• Pittsburgh's wide receivers caught just seven passes in Week 10.
• DK Metcalf is averaging 3.6 receptions and 55.8 receiving yards per game, both the lowest of his career. His 19.2% target rate is the lowest since Metcalf's rookie season. Over the past two games, he has just five catches for 41 yards.
• Steelers tight ends received more than half of Rodgers' targets in the first meeting.
• The Bengals allow a league worst 13.5% touchdown rate to the tight end position. Tight ends have 12 touchdowns against Cincinnati.
• Pat Freiermuth caught five passes for 111 yards and two touchdowns in Cincinnati earlier this year.
• Darnell Washington's three highest snap counts this season have all come in Steelers wins.
• Jaylen Warren only ran a route on 29% of Pittsburgh's dropbacks last week, his lowest percentage since Week 1. However, among running backs with at least 100 routes run, he ranks third in yards per route run at 2.79 behind Christian McCaffrey and Bijan Robinson. Still, Kenneth Gainwell has run more routes than Warren in three of their last four games together. Last week Gainwell ran 25 routes to Warren's eight. Gainwell is averaging .87 yards per route run. Warren has caught two or more passes in each of his games this season.
• The Steelers use play action on 21% of their dropbacks, higher than only four offenses.
• Rodgers wasn't sacked in the first meeting. Cincinnati has just 13 sacks for the season. The Bengals average 1.4 sacks per game, better than only three defenses. Pittsburgh allows 2.0 sacks per game.
• The Chargers blitzed Rodgers just once on Sunday night.
• Only six Bengals have recorded a sack in 2025. Cincinnati has the NFL's lowest blitz rate (20.8%).
• Opposing defenses are only blitzing the Steelers at a 22.7% rate, third lowest.
• Cincinnati allows 164.4 rushing yards per game, most in the league by 14.3 yards. They also allow the third most yards per carry (5.35). They allow 2.49 rushing yards after first contact, fourth highest, and 2.51 yards before first contact, second highest. The Bengals also stop a runner at or behind the line of scrimmage at the lowest rate (11.4%) in the league.
• Pittsburgh ran for 73 yards in Week 10. They average 85.7 rushing yards per game.
• Warren ran for 127 yards when these teams met last. Over his past four games, he has an 80% rush share.
• Gainwell didn't have a carry against the Chargers after logging at least three in every other game this season. Gainwell did out snap Warren in that game though 27 to 24. Warren wasn't on the field for one third down snap against Los Angeles.
• The Bengals defense allows a 7.3% explosive play rate. Only the Bears are worse. The Steelers explosive play rate (4.6%) is only better than four offenses.
• Pittsburgh converted just two of 11 third down opportunities in Los Angeles and didn't convert a third down until the fourth quarter of that game. Over their last three games, Pittsburgh is converting just 15% of their third down attempts. For the season, they convert 36.0% of their attempts, better than just six offenses. The Bengals have the second worst (49.1%) third down defense behind only Dallas.
• The Bengals became the second team (1966 Giants) in NFL history to score 38+ points in consecutive games and lose them both.
• The Bengals have used 11 Top 100 draft picks on defensive players since 2021.

WHEN CINCINNATI HAS THE BALL

• The Bengals average 5.3 yards per play, but 7.0 over their past three games. They average just 3.6 yards per play on the road, however. Pittsburgh allows 5.4, but just 4.6 last week in Los Angeles.
• The Bengals employ 11 Personnel at a 75% clip. Only the Titans use 11 Personnel more. Cincinnati is in 12 Personnel 20.4% of the time.
• The Bengals average 29.8 yards per drive, 10^th fewest, as well as .4 punts per drive, sixth highest. Their .15 turnovers per drive is only better than three offenses. On a per drive basis, Pittsburgh's defense is third best in creating turnovers, but only two defenses are worse at creating three and outs than the Steelers.
• The Bengals are throwing the ball on 67.8% of their snaps, the highest percentage in the league. The Titans are second at 64.5%. Pittsburgh's opponents are throwing the ball at a 62.5% clip, fifth highest.
• Cincinnati is turning a set of downs into a new set of downs or a touchdown at a 68% rate, exactly league average. The Steelers are at 73%, better than only seven defenses.
• Pittsburgh is allowing a league-high 269.4 passing yards per game, which would be the highest in Steelers history.
• Among quarterbacks with at least 100 dropbacks, Flacco ranks sixth in passing yards per game (258.6), but 30^th in yards per attempt (6.21). Only Tua Tagovailoa (13) and Geno Smith (12) have thrown more interceptions than Flacco (8). Flacco is averaging 313.5 passing yards per game with the Bengals with two or more passing touchdowns in every start with Cincinnati. Flacco is coming off a game in which he threw for 470 yards.
• In all eight of Flacco's starts with the Browns or Bengals this season, he has thrown 34 passes or more. He has attempted 45 passes or more in five of those eight starts.
• Flacco threw the ball 47 times against Pittsburgh. Flacco completed 31 passes for 342 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Flacco's average time to throw in that game was just 2.44 seconds.
• Since joining the Bengals, Flacco has the third fastest time to throw (2.46 seconds) while 54.2% of his throws come under 2.5 seconds (fourth highest).
• Last week, Justin Herbert's average time to throw was 2.21 seconds against Pittsburgh.
• Flacco has appeared in four games for Cincinnati and Jake Browning in three. Flacco has 1,254 passing yards with an 11/2 touchdown/interception ratio compared to 757 and for Browning with six touchdowns against eight interceptions.
• Ja'Marr Chase was targeted 23 times in the first meeting, catching 16 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown with his longest reception just 18 yards. His average depth of target was just 6.9 yards downfield, but Chase averaged 3.35 yards per route run in that contest. In Flacco's four starts, Chase has been targeted 62 times and has caught 44 passes for 457 yards. Chase leads the NFL with 107 targets and 76 receptions, and his 831 receiving yards is second. He has 90+ receiving yards in each of his last five games.
• Tee Higgins caught six passes for 96 yards and a touchdown in Week 7. He is coming off his best game of the season against Chicago, catching seven passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns. Higgins is averaging 80.8 receiving yards per game with Flacco.
• The Steelers have allowed a league-high 194.1 receiving yards per game to opposing wide receivers and a league-high 141.6 yards to pass catchers aligned out wide. Cincinnati's wide receivers average a league-high 231.8 receiving yards per game since Flacco became the starter.
• Noah Fant leads the Bengals tight ends with 220 yards. No one else at this position has more than 61.
• Pittsburgh allows the seventh most yards (68.1) and eighth most receptions (6.1) receptions per game to opposing tight ends.
• The Bengals use play action on 18% of their dropbacks, higher than only Atlanta.
• Flacco was sacked twice in the first meeting. The Steelers sacked Justin Herbert five times last week. Pittsburgh's defense averages 3.6 sacks per game. Only Denver is better. Cincinnati allows 2.4 sacks per game.
• Pittsburgh is blitzing at a 37.2% rate. Only four defenses blitz at a higher rate. Their percentage of six or more-man blitzes (16.2%) is only behind Kansas City and Minnesota. On early downs, only four defenses blitz at a higher rate than Pittsburgh.
• In the first meeting with Cincinnati, the Steelers blitzed on 24.5% of dropbacks, their second lowest percentage of the season.
• Opposing defenses are only blitzing the Bengals at a 24.6% rate, fifth lowest.
• Only Denver (87) has more quarterback hits than the Steelers (74). Indianapolis is third at 65. The Broncos and Colts have played one more game than Pittsburgh.
• The Steelers have three players with five or more sacks, which is tied for most in the NFL.
• The Steelers have eight different players with an interception, which is also tied for the most in the NFL.
• Pittsburgh and Indianapolis are the only two defenses that rank in the top five in both sacks and takeaways.
• The Steelers employ a middle of the field safety on 62.9% of their defensive snaps, second highest.
• The Bengals average 2.38 rushing yards after first contact per attempt, fifth best.
• Chase Brown ran for 108 yards on just 11 carries against Pittsburgh in Week 7, his highest rushing yards total of the season. Brown has 100+ scrimmage yards in each of his past three games.

SPECIAL TEAMS

• Evan McPherson is perfect on field goals inside of 50 yards.
• The Steelers leaders through nine games in special teams snaps are Jack Sawyer (195), Ben Skowronek (187), Payton Wilson (170), Connor Heyward (161), Carson Bruener (157), and James Pierre (137).

MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT

January 10^th, 2016: Steelers 18, Bengals 16

Cincinnati was without their starting quarterback Andy Dalton for this playoff game, but they had been to the postseason in five of the previous six years and were a very talented football team. It was AJ McCarron that started the Wild Card matchup in Cincinnati and after a Ben Roethlisberger shoulder injury, the Steelers had to turn to Landry Jones during thegame. Jones' first pass was intercepted by Vontaze Burfict. That interception gave the Bengals the ball with 1:36 to play with a 16-15 lead and the ball at its own 26-yard line. But Ryan Shazier stripped the ball from Jeremy Hill, the Steelers recovered, and Roethlisberger returned to the game. After moving the team down the field, a 15-yard Burfict penalty put the Steelers in field goal range to win the game. Adam Jones was called for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty and the ball was moved to the 17-yard line. Chris Boswell sealed the deal and the Steelers moved onto the next round of the playoffs in Denver.

KEY MATCHUPS

Steelers WR DK Metcalf vs. Bengals CB DJ Turner - Despite the Bengals defensive struggles and not getting a lot of help from a Cincinnati pass-rush, Turner has absolutely been one of the brightest spots of the Bengals defense this season. Turner has two interceptions this season including one against the Steelers.

Steelers Cornerbacks vs. Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase - Chase was an unstoppable force in the first meeting, churning out reception after reception on short quick-hitting routes. Chase won the receiving triple crown (receptions, receiving yards, receiving touchdowns) last season and is clearly one of the NFL's best wide receivers.