{"id":294526,"date":"2026-09-26T15:10:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-26T15:10:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/294526\/"},"modified":"2026-09-26T15:10:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T15:10:12","slug":"steelers-vs-bengals-week-3-predictions-for-pittsburgh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/294526\/","title":{"rendered":"Steelers vs. Bengals: Week 3 predictions for Pittsburgh"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 1-1 Steelers take on the 2-0 Bengals this week as both teams open AFC North play.<\/p>\n

Cincinnati, coming off a 20-6 win over the Texans last week, is on a different trajectory from the Steelers, who left Week 2 with a 20-6 loss to the Patriots. As a result, FanDuel Sportsbook<\/a> has the Bengals as 3.5-point favorites heading into the weekend.<\/p>\n

Division games have a way of being unpredictable, especially this early in the season. That said, here are three predictions for Sunday\u2019s matchup:<\/p>\n

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Pat Freiermuth has a big game<\/p>\n

\"PITTSBURGH,<\/a><\/p>\n

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA – NOVEMBER 16: Pat Freiermuth #88 of the Pittsburgh Steelers runs during an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Acrisure Stadium on November 16, 2025 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Michael Owens\/Getty Images) Getty Images<\/p>\n

The Bengals defense has struggled to contain tight ends to open the season, with Houston\u2019s Dalton Schultz and Foster Moreau combining for 14 catches and 174 yards last week against Cincinnati.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a promising matchup for Steelers\u2019 tight end Pat Freiermuth, who has averaged over 70 receiving yards in his last four games against the Bengals. And this year, Freiermuth has been a much bigger part of the Pittsburgh offense than in 2025; though two weeks this season, he\u2019s already logged a team-best nine receptions.<\/p>\n

All signs point to another productive outing for Freiermuth on Sunday.<\/p>\n

The Steelers defense takes a step back<\/p>\n

\"PITTSBURGH,<\/a><\/p>\n

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA – SEPTEMBER 13: Jaquan Brisker #3 of the Pittsburgh Steelers celebrates during the second quarter of a game against the Atlanta Falcons at Acrisure Stadium on September 13, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Lauren Leigh Bacho\/Getty Images) Getty Images<\/p>\n

While the Steelers\u2019 defense hasn\u2019t been without hiccups to start the season, it\u2019s largely been one of the NFL\u2019s best units, ranking top 10 in both yards and points allowed per game through two weeks.<\/p>\n

However, they haven\u2019t faced an offense as strong as Cincinnati\u2019s yet. In Week 1, the Steelers drew a favorable matchup against the Falcons with Cooper Rush at quarterback. And in Week 2, Pittsburgh performed solidly limiting Drake Maye and the Patriots, but New England was without its top receiver in A.J. Brown.<\/p>\n

This week, the Steelers won\u2019t be facing a short-handed opponent. The Bengals feature quarterback Joe Burrow along with one of the league\u2019s best wide receiver rooms in Ja\u2019Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Pittsburgh had some flaws in coverage and tackling last week, especially at the safety position, which will only be more tested against Cincinnati.<\/p>\n

Pittsburgh could really use Joey Porter Jr. this week, but even if he does play, it\u2019ll be a difficult first assignment after being limited or a non-participant in practice since the summer.<\/p>\n

The Steelers have the league\u2019s No. 3 passing defense through two weeks. Don\u2019t expect the numbers to remain that elite against the Bengals.<\/p>\n

Jaylen Warren has more receiving than rushing yards<\/p>\n

\"PITTSBURGH,<\/a><\/p>\n

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA – SEPTEMBER 13: Jaylen Warren #30 of the Pittsburgh Steelers runs the ball during the second quarter of a game against the Atlanta Falcons at Acrisure Stadium on September 13, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Lauren Leigh Bacho\/Getty Images) Getty Images<\/p>\n

With Rico Dowdle out against the Bengals, expect a heavy dose of Jaylen Warren at running back on Sunday. Warren himself is questionable, but seems likely to play.<\/p>\n

That said, don\u2019t expect a productive rushing game from Warren. The Steelers\u2019 offensive line has struggled through two weeks and might shuffle its lineup ahead of Week 3. And the Bengals have the league\u2019s third-strongest rushing defense through two weeks of the season, largely due to elite nose tackle Dexter Lawrence.<\/p>\n

As a result, the Steelers might lean into Warren\u2019s yards after catch ability as a dump-off option in the passing game, especially with quarterback Aaron Rodgers getting rid of the ball quickly against an improved Bengals pass rush this year.<\/p>\n

Warren hasn\u2019t had the most productive start to the season, with just 89 total rushing yards and 61 as a receiver through two games. Still, he\u2019s the team\u2019s third-leading pass catcher thus far, and is due for more involvement on offense this week.<\/p>\n

What are your predictions for Steelers vs. Bengals? Join the BTSC comment section and let us know!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 1-1 Steelers take on the 2-0 Bengals this week as both teams open AFC North play. Cincinnati,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":294527,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[73,75,74,33932],"class_list":["post-294526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-news","tag-pittsburgh-steelers-odds"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=294526"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294526\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/294527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=294526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=294526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=294526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}