Steelers vs Bengals Week 3 2026 Preview

     For years the fear around the AFC North was what happens when Joe Burrow finally gets a defense? We're finding out. In Week 1, Cincinnati sacked Baker Mayfield four times and forced four fumbles in a 33-27 win over Tampa Bay. Demetrius Knight Jr. returned one for a touchdown, and that single score matched the Bengals' total number of defensive touchdowns from all of 2025. Week 2 was even scarier. A Houston team that put up 31 on Buffalo the week before managed two field goals, 60 rushing yards and a 5-of-17 day on third down. It's the first time Cincinnati hasn't allowed a touchdown since 2022.

    The centerpiece is Dexter Lawrence. His first big moment in stripes came against Houston: on fourth-and-inches from the Bengals' 18, he blew through the line and dropped David Montgomery for a loss, killing a red-zone trip. Cincinnati pressured C.J. Stroud on 43.5% of his dropbacks, with five different players, Lawrence included, logging at least four pressures. Unlike the Steelers, the Bengals' offense is actually cashing in on its defense.

    Then there's Ja'Marr Chase, arguably the best receiver in football. He had a lackluster opener, but then reminded everyone who he is in Houston: seven catches, 75 yards and two touchdowns, including a 32-yarder where he fought off All-Pro Derek Stingley Jr. and contorted his body to get a foot down near the pylon. That was his 25th career touchdown of 30-plus yards, 10 more than anyone else in the league since he was drafted in 2021.

    Pittsburgh and Cincinnati split last year's series, but Burrow played in neither game. The Steelers know him all too well. Mike McCarthy doesn't. McCarthy replaced Mike Tomlin this offseason, and this is his introduction to the rivalry.

    The Steelers have one touchdown in 25 possessions through two games. Take away T.J. Watt's pick-six against Atlanta and the offense has scored 16 points in two weeks. That's the second-fewest points per game in the league, and they haven't cracked 300 yards in either game. For perspective, Matt Canada's first two games as offensive coordinator in 2021 produced 33 offensive points: 16 in Buffalo, not counting Ulysees Gilbert's blocked-punt return, and 17 against the Raiders. The Matt Canada offense doubled this one.

    The offensive line doesn't help. Aaron Rodgers was pressured on 36.8% of his dropbacks against New England, the second-highest rate of his Steelers career, and now Lawrence is coming to town. The obvious fix is at right tackle. Dylan Cook won the job over first-round pick Max Iheanachor, mostly because a neck/shoulder injury kept Iheanachor out for over two weeks in August. Cook has been abysmal. It's time to play the rookie.

    Joey Porter Jr.'s status is up in the air, like it has been pretty much since January, when his bank account went empty. The team recently changed his injury designation from "back" to "not-injury related/conditioning," which looked like a step toward holding him in breach of contract. The next day he left practice early and was listed with a back injury again. CBS reported during the Patriots game that Pittsburgh has cleared Porter's back and that whether he plays is up to him.

    Without him, Patrick Graham has leaned heavily on zone, and that looks like a lack of trust in Jamel Dean and Asante Samuel Jr. in man coverage. Dean has been targeted nine times and allowed seven catches for 89 yards. A healthy JPJ opens up Graham's playbook against Chase and Tee Higgins. If the "back injury" pattern continues, T.J. Watt has to get home even faster than usual, which is saying something.

    Watt has arguably been the best defensive player in football so far. He had two sacks, three tackles for loss and a pick-six in Week 1, and his 3.5 sacks rank second in the league, with Alex Highsmith right behind him at three. Steelers fans are sick of hearing that this is the most expensive defense in the NFL, mostly because it never played like it. Now it finally does, and the offense can't return the favor. Even if they hold Cincinnati to 13, the same number the defense allowed in New England before a fumble-return touchdown made it 20, that probably isn't enough.

    It doesn't get easier. Four days later the Steelers go to Cleveland for Thursday Night Football, where they're 0-4 against the Browns since 2009. Pittsburgh could easily be 1-3 on the season, with its only win coming against one of the worst teams in the league. Even that one came against Atlanta's third-string quarterback and needed Watt to go full Superman.

    Prediction: Bengals 23, Steelers 9. Pittsburgh's defense keeps this respectable for a half, Watt gets home at least once, and Chris Boswell accounts for every Steelers point on three field goals. That's still not enough against a Bengals team that's finally good on both sides of the ball. Lawrence lives in the backfield, Rodgers keeps checking down short of the sticks, and Chase makes one play that nobody in black and gold can cover. The Bengals go to 3-0, the Steelers fall to 1-2, and Thursday in Cleveland suddenly feels a lot more like a must-win in September.