The Bengals are dealing with more than just a short turnaround from Madrid. Sunday night’s matchup with the Steelers comes with a rest edge that has been brutal for Cincinnati on paper and even uglier when you dig into the numbers.
Pittsburgh is coming out of its bye, and that alone has been a bad sign for opponents. In the sixth game where one team is fresh off an international trip and the other is coming off a bye, the bye team has won all five previous meetings. That trend already tilts things toward the Steelers.
Then there’s Pittsburgh’s own track record after time off, which is about as strong as it gets. The Steelers have won nine straight games after their bye, the second-longest active streak in the NFL and the third-longest since the league started using bye weeks in 1990. Their last loss in that spot came in 2016, a 21-14 defeat at Baltimore as 3.5-point favorites.
That run has not been padded by easy home dates, either. Four of those nine wins came on the road, including two of the last three. Four of the last five also came with Pittsburgh listed as the underdog.
Overall, the Steelers are 25-12 all-time in the week after a bye, a .676 winning percentage that ranks tied for fifth in the league. Only the Ravens, Eagles, Broncos and Bills have done better. Buffalo currently owns the longest active streak at 12 straight after beating Baltimore 36-10 following its Week 7 bye this year.
History has not been nearly as kind to Cincinnati in this spot. The Bengals are 12-26 after a bye, a .346 mark that sits last in the NFL. Still, they’ve had some success lately, winning four of their last six after the break, including the Week 7 win at Baltimore this season.
Under Zac Taylor, Cincinnati is 4-4 in the game after its bye. The Bengals have also only faced an opponent coming off a bye three times during Taylor’s tenure, going 1-2 in those games. That stretch includes a 27-18 loss at Green Bay last year, a 17-13 win over Seattle in 2023 and a 19-17 loss to the Giants in 2020.
The Steelers have been Cincinnati’s post-bye opponent six times overall, though the most recent meeting came back in 2008, when Pittsburgh rolled 38-10 in Cincinnati. Before that, from 1990-98, the Steelers came out of their bye against the Bengals five times, and Cincinnati won three of those games.
In Other News...
Joe Burrow Just Put Bengals Facility Criticism Back In The Spotlight
Joe Burrow and the Bengals are getting ready for a prime-time meeting with the Steelers on Sunday night after a win over the Falcons, but the conversation around the team has drifted well beyond the standings. Social media has again taken aim at Cincinnatis practice setup, with the cross-street walk to the field becoming the latest symbol of a facility issue that has followed the franchise for years.
Mike Brown has already made clear the team is not chasing anything new or flashy, and the Bengals new lease connected to the stadium renovation does not include an indoor practice facility. So while the focus on the field is on Pittsburgh, the backdrop around the team remains the same familiar debate, one that keeps resurfacing whenever the Bengals are in the spotlight. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Could Get Needed Secondary Help At The Perfect Time
The Bengals got a little more flexibility in the secondary this week when Jalen Davis 21-day practice window opened, and he wasted no time getting back on the field with a full practice in his first session back. With Cincinnati still sorting through its defensive back depth, the timing matters, especially with Josh Newton expected to be available as the backup quarterback against the Steelers.
There is also a bigger-picture reason this situation has some urgency. Cincinnati is already looking ahead to Washington next week, and the Commanders come in with the confidence of a Thursday Night Football win behind them. If Davis keeps progressing, the Bengals could be in position to add another experienced option at exactly the moment they need one most, even if the final decision on activation still hangs in the balance. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals May Finally Have A First Round Answer At Linebacker
A fresh mock draft from NBC Sports analyst Connor Rogers has the Bengals looking ahead to a possible first-round fix at linebacker, with Notre Dames Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa projected to land in Cincinnati in 2027. The appeal is easy to see: he brings a reputation for stout run defense, some pass-rushing juice and enough coverage ability to fit what teams want from a modern linebacker.
For a Bengals defense that has continued to search for a true long-term answer in the middle, the projection at least offers a name worth filing away. Viliamu-Asas talent is obvious, but so is the concern in his background, with two ACL injuries already part of the conversation around him, which is why any early draft buzz around him will come with plenty of caution attached. [Read more 🡒]