Pittsburgh Steelers are heading into uncharted territory this Sunday when they travel to Cincinnati to face the Bengals. While they are squaring off against a very familiar opponent, the Steelers have never had a coordinator replaced during the season. After two woeful offensive outputs, particularly in the passing game as the Steelers run game has really picked up, they will be looking to find their way with a new play caller and coordinator.

There are several ways to look at the Steelers upcoming match up to see if it’s a good one for the offense to get going. Yes, the Steelers are facing a team who is two years removed from being in the Super Bowl and were in the AFC Championship game last year. Additionally, the Steelers are going on the road which can make communication quite difficult.

But how does the 2023 Cincinnati Bengals defense stack up compared to others the Steelers have faced and will face later this season?

To answer it plainly, this could be the worst defense the Steelers go up against the season.

On the most recent episode of the Steelers Stat Geek podcast, I outlined some of the numbers with the Cincinnati Bengals defense and how they could potentially be the best matchup for the Steelers this season. Of course, this is all based on data through Week 11 of the 2023 season.

With the Steelers ranked 27th overall on defense so far in 2023, there aren’t many times the Steelers face a team whose defense is ranked lower. It should be noted that overall rank depends on yardage surrendered as the standard. When it comes to points surrendered, the Steelers’ 19.5 is actually 7th best in the NFL at this time. But when giving up yards, they are 27th overall and 23rd against the run as well as 23rd against the pass.

As for the Cincinnati Bengals, they are the 30th overall defense surrendering over 386 yards per game. The Bengals are 31st in the NFL in defending the run giving up over 138 yards per game while they are 27th against the pass giving up close to 250 yards per game.

Looking at the overall defensive ranks heading into Week 12, Cincinnati has the worst ranking of any team the Steelers have faced or have yet to face this season. The next closest team at this time is the Steelers Week 15 opponent in the Indianapolis Colts who are 25th in defense and are just behind the Steelers Week 13 opponent in the Arizona Cardinals. The lowest defense the Steelers have already faced so far this season is the Tennessee Titans who are currently 22nd.

For those who are thinking this simply is because the Bengals had a rough start to the season, their last two games have brought their rankings down. Although they were facing two quality offenses in the Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans, the Bengals are averaging 32 points surrendered over the last two games and gave up 172.5 rushing yards per game.

While much is being made about the Steelers going up against the Bengals offense, even though they are down quarterback Joe Burrow, it might be the right defense at the right time for the Steelers to get things back on track.

On the other hand, the Steelers struggling offense could be exactly what the Bengals defense needs for them to write their ship.

For more of a breakdown of the Steelers matchup with the Bengals on Sunday, check out the most recent episode of the Steelers Stat Geek podcast below: