The Pittsburgh Steelers do not play until Sunday, but the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens play tonight. The Ravens sit at 6-3, while the Bengals are trying to claw back into relevance at 4-5. While Baltimore is viewed as the bigger threat to the 6-2 Steelers, former GM Doug Whaley would rather see them beat the Bengals.
“In my opinion, because they’ve had such success against the Ravens, I’d rather knock the Bengals out”, Whaley said on 93.7 The Fan, speaking from a Steelers-centric perspective. “Don’t give them any chance of life. Because if you’ve got Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson, I’m more scared of Burrow, even though the defense is [struggling] there. Now, Lamar Jackson and [Derrick] Henry? I see that. But let’s eliminate one and make it a two-horse race”.
The Bengals are not immune to slow starts followed by recoveries, but this year will be particularly tough. While their offense is up to snuff, the defense ranks in the bottom third of the league. Joe Burrow would be in the MVP conversation if the Bengals were playing decently consistently, but the blowout loss to the Eagles was, I think, a big setback.
Beyond that loss, the Bengals have been on the upswing after starting 0-3. They are 4-2 since then, and 3-1 in their last four games. The Ravens also overcame an 0-2 start, with only a blip against the Cleveland Browns since then. Last week, they dominated the Denver Broncos to convince people again that they are the real deal. They are 6-1, after all, since their early losses. Not everybody believes they are the divisional favorites, though.
Still, from a Steelers perspective, it’s a tough call. They play the Ravens after this week, and it would certainly be nice to be facing a 6-4 team. Especially since they have a 7-2 Commanders team on deck that will be a tough win. The Ravens are obviously a bigger threat for the division than the Bengals currently are. But some believe the Bengals can still catch the Steelers.
But the Steelers have a good track record head-to-head against the Ravens and should at least split the season series. Their recent history against the Bengals is actually spottier, and you can argue that Burrow is the better quarterback. At least, he is the better pure passer, better for comeback wins, even if Jackson is having his best season in that regard.
If the Bengals were to fall to 4-6, that would pretty much bottom out their postseason chances this year. At the least, it would finish off their divisional hopes. That is tempting from a Steelers perspective, only having to seriously worry about the Ravens overtaking them.
But they have to worry about both the Bengals and the Ravens because they still play each of them twice. Whether the Bengals are 7-5 or 4-8 in their first meeting, it doesn’t matter. They are still capable of beating the Steelers and spoiling their divisional hopes. And in the end, it’s a numbers game of wins and losses. The Ravens’ loss number isn’t high enough for much comfort, let alone breathing room. So I think from my perspective, I’ll be “rooting” for the Bengals.
