A classic matchup is brewing in Sunday's game (1 p.m.-Cincinnati's Local 12) at Paycor Stadium pitting Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow’s elite downfield passing game against the Steelers' stingy long-range defense and its reconstituted secondary.
According to NFL Next Gen Stats, on passes of at least 10 yards in the air, Burrow has a 121.2 passer rating, good for third in the league, to go with 14 touchdown passes, second highest in the league, and 1,458 yards, fifth overall, with only two interceptions.
The Steelers, who picked up safety DeShon Elliott in free agency to pair with Minkah Fitzpatrick and traded for cornerback Donte Jackson to team with Joey Porter Jr., have allowed the lowest passer rating on downfield throws at 48.1 with four touchdown passes and 11 interceptions.
Although the Steelers are generating fewer sacks and hits on the quarterback than usual (they are in the middle of the pack with 25 sacks), both Burrow and his NFL-leading wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase chalk up at least some of it to pressure up front.
"They're up front killing it right now. They secondary is pretty smooth, too, but up front is really the biggest key right now. And they've got good linebackers, too, that are moving around," Chase said after Wednesday's practice. "Not too many big plays. A lot of the interceptions (were) pretty much thrown to them, too.
"I've got to beat the DEs and the tackles from trying to make a play, so I've got to speed my route up. But at the same time, I still got to try to be in sync with Joe."
Burrow, 3-2 against the Steelers, faces his fourth different starting Pittsburgh quarterback in Russell Wilson.
"It's hard to hold on to the ball long enough to push the ball down the field. Teams haven't really tried to do that because of their guys up front," Burrow said after Wednesday's practice. "Teams try to run the ball quick, play-action, get the ball in the perimeter. You don't want to let those edge rushers get off the ball, make you push up into the pocket into their really good interior rushers, so you got to play the game a certain way."
Burrow went into the bye week leading the NFL in yards passing and touchdown passes and comes out of it still tied for the touchdowns lead with the Ravens' Lamar Jackson (27) and third in yards with 3,028, seven yards behind Seattle's Geno Smith and 25 behind Jackson, as he eyes the new Pittsburgh secondary.
"They're physical. They're really good tacklers, their safeties are two of the best tandems in the league," Burrow said. "I have a lot of respect for those guys. The way that they're playing right now, the way that they disguise their coverages, you just consistently see them making open-field tackles on plays that should have been explosives and they come out and make an open-field tackle to limit that, so we're going to have to be great in the open field making guys miss and creating some plays. "
Chase, still the only receiver in the league with more than 1,000 yards despite the bye, also leads the league with 481 yards after the catch.
DECEMBER REMEMBERED
If this is December, and it will be when the Bengals play the Steelers, this must be Burrow's sweet spot.
Because of injuries, Burrow has played in two Decembers during his previous four seasons and been masterful in both, leading the Bengals to a 6-2 record and six straight wins while throwing 19 touchdown passes and only six interceptions.
Four of his 300-yard games have come in December, when he's had two four-TD games and a three-TD game. It all computes to a glittering 71% completion rate and a passer rating of 108.3.
(Which, by the way, is slightly better than this season's 106.9, third best in the league.)
Burrow may be ready for his biggest December yet because of the time he spent in the weight room this past offseason building up his body.
"I would say I always feel pretty good at this point in the year when you're healthy," Burrow said. "I feel great right now. I feel like I'm moving the best I've ever moved. My strength is there, my weight is there, so I'm happy with where I'm at."
Even without Burrow, the Bengals have been dangerous in the 2020s in December, when they're 11-6. They've also been a tough out in that stretch at home, where they are 6-3 in the decade and have a five-game winning streak.
Of course, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is pretty good in December, too, at 46-29.
JOE B-R-R-R
With some weather reports giving Cincinnati a high of 28 degrees on Sunday, that would make it the coldest home game ever for Burrow and Chase. They won a 30-degree start at Paycor when they took the 2022 Wild Card Game over the Ravens.
But they seem to do just fine in the brisk temperatures. In their coldest NFL game on Christmas Eve 2022 in the 21 degrees of New England, they beat the Patriots with Burrow throwing for 375 yards and eight of the passes going to Chase for 79 yards. The only game he's lost in less than 40 degrees is the 2022 AFC title game in Kansas City, making Burrow 8-1 when it's in the 20s or 30s.
They had one of their greatest days in 33 degrees at home on Jan. 2, 2022, at Paycor, when Chase had a career-high 266 yards with Burow throwing for 446 in a 34-31 win over the Chiefs.
Against the Steelers? In 27 degrees at Pittsburgh on Nov. 20, 2022 (also out of a bye, by the way), the Bengals won, 37-30, in a game Chase didn't play with Burrow throwing for four touchdowns, 355 yards, and a 104.1 passer rating.
So they should be OK. But, as Burrow acknowledged, it's the coldest game since last year's wrist surgery, and he's not sure how it's going to respond. Asked how he threw Wednesday, he said, "Could have been better."
"In the past when I've had injuries, cold weather does affect it, so we'll find out if I, maybe I'll have a heater on the sideline or something. I haven't really thought about that yet, but we'll see," Burrow said.
Expect a glove, but not because of the wrist.
"That's just something I've always done," Burrow said. "When it's cold or dry outside, it's hard to hold the ball, so that's something that I've always done to keep my hand moist and be able to get that tack on the ball that I need."
CHATTERING CHASE
The New Orleans-bred Chase is preparing for the cold with his world-famous "Warm Skin."
"Besides a handwarmer, I put on some 'Warm Skin.' I try not to put too much on because Joe (is) going to scream at me," said Chase, recalling a rather chilly game at Ole Miss when they were at LSU. "It's like cream or lotion we put on to keep us warm."
On this particular day, it made Burrow hot.
"I don't think the game started. I was walking toward the field, and I think I bumped him, or he must have seen me," Chase said. "(It was) shiny-shiny, and he touched me and was like, 'What's that?' I was like, 'It's some stuff.' He's like, 'Bro, take it off.' I'm like, 'What?' He's like, 'Bro, I'm not throwing you the ball if you've got it on.'
"I just took it off right there, so, it was cool."
He's worn it in the coolest games here, he says. New England ("Run the ball, let's get out of here. Run the ball, let's get out of here, man, you know?"), as well as in Kansas City. But not in the snow in Buffalo in the 2022 AFC Divisional.
"I think I was excited it was snowing, so I think I just wanted to feel snow," Chase said.
Footnote; The Bengals froze the Bills, 27-10, in the 32-degree snow with Chase catching a 28-yard touchdown pass as Burrow racked up a 101.9 passer rating.
Chase says he'll break out the "Warm Skin," "When I can see my breath."
STRETCH RUN
Last month, Burrow said they had to win 10 games to make the playoffs. On Wednesday, Burrow said he was done making any projections at 4-7.
"We're not out of it yet. We're not out of it yet, so it's going to take a lot for us to get in, but at this point, just focus on what you can focus on," Burrow said. "Control what you can control, and that's trying to get better every week. Putting great stuff out there on tape, week in and week out. That's what I'm focused on doing.
"I'm not worried about the playoffs at this point. I'm worried about trying to play my best, be as consistent as I can, get our offense to an even higher level and continue to create big plays, put points on the board. I'm just focused on trying to be the best that I could be."
MAC TAKE
Bengals special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons doesn't need a bye week to do a deep dive, but there was one coming after Evan McPherson missed two field-goal tries in the fourth quarter in the last game, including his fourth straight from 50-plus yards.
Both dipped wide left, as have five of his six misses this year. But Simmons doesn't see a connection.
"I looked at every practice kick because usually what happens in practice happens in the games and there is really no correlation," Simmons said before Wednesday's practice. "He has had about the same amount of misses to the right off the right hash as he does off the left hash and the left or vice versa. It's not like of the 20 kicks he's missed since training camp started, 15 of them left and five of them right. It's damn near right down the middle from both hashes. So I don't have a great answer for that."
Simmons believes he may have found a better answer in the operation with long snapper Cal Adomitis and holder Ryan Rehkow. Not that the operation has been bad (and Simmons says the snaps and holds against the Chargers were fine), it's just that all three players need much more time on task to make it more and more natural. The three have been working together full-time since late in training camp, but it's apparently not long enough yet.
"It's something that has to become more habit. It's like a rookie receiver running a route," Simmons said. "It's supposed to be a 10-yard out. One time he runs it eight. Next time runs at 11, and you're expecting it to be a 10, and it's going to be a 10, it's got to be a 10. And you don't develop the level of comfort and trust until it happens a 10 time and time and time and time and time and time and time and time and time again.
"And that's what these guys have to do, is they have to develop that, and they will get there. No doubt in my mind. It's just taking longer than what I thought."
SLANTS AND SCREENS
Chase was all smiles after his meeting with NBA great Steph Curry over the bye, and Warriors teammate Draymond Green helped Chase get a jersey. Chase met Green during his fashion shoot in Paris over the summer, and they've hit it off.
"We talked for a little bit just admiring each other's game. There weren't too many words said," Chase said of Curry. "Just means that he has a lot of respect for me. I've gone a long way and just need to keep going. He just told me I'm balling right now. I won't say what Draymond said, but he just said I'm balling right now." …
Burrow also got kudos from the NBA over the bye. Kevin Durant said in an interview, "If I had to take anybody, I'm taking the Bengals. I just trust Joe Burrow more than anybody else."
Burrow says he's known Durant for a couple of years.
"He's become a friend. I always enjoy seeing him, hanging out with him. We watched a couple of UFC fights together a couple of years ago," Burrow said. "It's always good to see him talk about your process, your greatness, and everything in between. So I've gathered a lot of information and gained a friend." …
Left tackle Orlando Brown Jr., who has missed the last three games with a leg issue, went limited Wednesday and head coach Zac Taylor said he feels good about him …
Linebacker Logan Wilson (knee), who hasn't missed a game in 37 straight dating back to Oct. 23, 2022, didn't work Wednesday …
Neither did defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins, still felled by the virus that took him out of the Nov. 17 game …
