The Pittsburgh Steelers are in the midst of the 2024 regular season, and with it being the team’s latest game fans’ hopes remain high heading into the second half of the season. The hope is there is a winning performance on the horizon on Sunday in Week 13 when the team travels to play the Cincinnati Bengals.

What exactly do the Steelers need to do to on defense to claim their ninth victory of 2024? Let’s break it down…

Defense

Harass Joe Burrow

The Bengals have done a decent job protecting their star quarterback this season, only surrendering 26 sacks in 2024. The key to victory in this sense though isn’t to sack Burrow, but to harass him. When Burrow is under pressure and blitzed, he is far less ineffective compared to when the defense only sends four pass rushers. Sacks are tremendous, but just getting Burrow off his spot will be ideal to disrupting the Bengals offense. The Steelers need to impose their will on the Cincinnati offensive line.

Force 3rd and Long

The Bengals are not a good running football team. They are averaging 91.5 yards per game (27th), and making the Bengals one-dimensional will be ideal. You might be looking at this and saying the Bengals will want to be a pass-happy team, and you are likely correct. However, the Bengals 3rd down offense is a Top 5 unit, and forcing them into 3rd and long situations will be big. It all starts with stopping the run and pinning your ears back and getting after Burrow.

Limit Scoring

The Bengals are averaging 27 points per game, and you have to wonder if the Steelers defense can hold the Bengals offense to 20 points. If the Steelers are going to limit scoring, they’re going to have to do so without relying on takeaways. Cincinnati has turned the ball over 10 times this season (4 INTs, 6 Fumbles), but just like the Steelers did vs. the Ravens two weeks ago, creating mistakes will be huge. If the Steelers can get the ball back, something they’ve done at a tremendous clip this season, it would be ideal, but forcing Burrow to throw the ball away and/or ill-advised passes is equally important. Limit the scoring will be the biggest key in this game.

I talk about this, and MUCH more on the “Let’s Ride”, and you can hear that podcast in the player below this article. In the meantime, be sure to stay tuned to SCN for the latest news and notes surrounding the team as they gear up for game time!