Steelers GameDay Cheat Sheet: Week 18 vs. the Cincinnati Bengals
Steelers GameDay Cheat Sheet is a weekly series featuring a quick glance at the upcoming Steelers game, including odds, records, things to watch for, and how to watch/listen to the game.
Cincinnati Bengals (8-8) at Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6)
- AFC entering Week 18: The Kansas City Chiefs (15-1, AFC West, No. 1 seed), Buffalo Bills (13-3, AFC East, No. 2 seed), Houston Texans (9-7, AFC South, No. 4 seed), Baltimore Ravens (11-5), Los Angeles Chargers (10-6) and Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6) have secured their spots in the AFC playoffs.
- AFC North: A Saturday doubleheader on ESPN/ABC will decide the AFC North as Baltimore hosts Cleveland (4:30 p.m. ET) and Pittsburgh hosts Cincinnati (8 p.m.). The Ravens, with a win, will clinch consecutive division titles for the third time ever (2011-12 and 2018-19) while the Steelers, with a win and a Baltimore loss, can be division champions for the first time since 2020.
- Final AFC playoff spot: Three teams – the Denver Broncos (9-7), Cincinnati Bengals (8-8) and Miami Dolphins (8-8) – are alive for the final AFC playoff spot.
- Denver (vs. Kansas City, 4:25 p.m. ET, CBS) needs a win or tie, or losses by both Cincinnati and Miami to secure their first 10-win season and playoff berth since 2015.
- Miami (at the New York Jets, 4:25 pm. ET, FOX) needs a win and a Denver loss to clinch a third-consecutive playoff berth.
- Cincinnati (at Pittsburgh on Saturday, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC) needs a win and losses by both Denver and Miami to clinch a playoff spot for the third time in the past four seasons.
Despite the Steelers playing at home with a longer break than usual, platforms with NFL Gameweek predictions like SportsMillions have set the Bengals as a -1.5-point favorite on the road. Unlike the previous game, Saturday’s clash is set with an over/under of 48.0.
Series History
- All-Time Steelers lead, 71-39
- Last: Steelers Win, 44-38 (Dec. 1, 2024)
- Home Steelers lead, 36-18
- Last: Steelers Win, 34-11 (Dec. 23, 2023)
- Away Steelers lead, 35-21
- Last: Steelers Win, 44-38 (Dec. 1, 2024)
- Playoffs Steelers lead, 2-0
- Last: Steelers Win, 18-16 (Jan. 9, 2016)
Series Notes
- Saturday’s game will be the 111th overall and 109th regular-season meeting between the Steelers and Bengals.
- The Steelers own a 32-game advantage in the overall series (71-39) and a 30- game lead in the regular-season series (69-39).
- Saturday’s game will be the 55th regular-season meeting between the Steelers and Bengals in Pittsburgh.
- The Steelers own an 18-game lead in the regular-season series (36-18) in Pittsburgh.
- Saturday’s game will be the third overall and first regular-season meeting between the two teams in the month of January.
- The Steelers own a two-game advantage in the overall series (2-0) in the month of January.
- Saturday’s game will be the first regular-season meeting in Pittsburgh between the two teams in the month of January.
- The 108 regular-season meetings with the Bengals are the second-most of any opponent in franchise history.
The Coaches
- Steelers: Mike Tomlin
- At Franchise: 183-106-2 (18)
- Overall: 183-106-2 (18)
- Versus Opponent: 26-9
- Bengals: Zac Taylor
- At Franchise: 45-52-1 (6)
- Overall: 45-52-1 (6)
- Versus Opponent: 4-7
Gameday Information
- Date: Saturday, January 4th
Time: 8 p.m. ET - Location: Acrisure Stadium
Pittsburgh, PA
Capacity 68,400 // Natural Grass - TV: ESPN (Locally WTAE-TV)
- Joe Buck (play-by-play)
- Troy Aikman (analysis)
- Lisa Salter (field reporter)
- National Radio: Westwood One
- Ted Emrich (play-by-play)
- Ryan Harris (analysis)
- Satellite Radio
- Steelers: Sirius 85, XM/SXM 225, Internet 826
- Bengals: Sirius 82, XM/SXM 226, Internet 806
- Local Radio: Steelers Radio Network
Locally: 102.5 WDVE-FM (Pittsburgh) & 970 WBGG-AM (Pittsburgh)
(48 affiliates – see below)- Rob King (play-by-play)
- Craig Wolfley (analysis)
- Max Starks (sideline)
- Missi Matthews (field reporter)
- Referee: John Hussey
- Vegas: Bengals -1.5 | Over/Under: 48.0
Steelers-Bengals Pregame Show
The final week of the 2024-25 NFL regular season is here as the Pittsburgh Steelers host the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Steelers are underdogs in their home stadium Saturday night as the Bengals enter Acrisure Stadium in a must-win situation. Pittsburgh has already clinched a playoff berth, but has three potential outcomes depending on what occurs this weekend.
Joe covers the postseason scenarios and gives his keys to the game for the Steelers to snap their three-game losing streak and enter the playoffs, hopefully, with some momentum.
View the video below on YouTube or visit our podcast page to find it on all popular audio platforms.
SCU Steelers News & Notes
- Steelers to watch in rematch with Bengals
- Message clear for Steelers: get job done against Bengals
- Three potential playoff outcomes for the Steelers this weekend
- NFL strikes again with Hard Knocks influenced Week 18 schedule
- Official Injury Report
Team Rankings
| CIN | PIT | |
|---|---|---|
| Home Record | 3-5-0 | 5-2-0 |
| Away Record | 5-3-0 | 5-4-0 |
| Record vs. Spread | 10-6-0 | 10-6-0 |
| Points Scored/Game | 28.3 (6th) | 22.7 (14th) |
| Points Allowed/Game | 26.1 (29th) | 20.5 (7th) |
| Takeaway Diff. | +4 (13th) | +15 (2nd) |
| Pass Yds/Game | 274 (1st) | 196 (25th) |
| Rush Yds/Game | 94 (29th) | 130 (10th) |
| Def. Pass Yds/Game | 230 (24th) | 226 (23rd) |
| Def. Rush Yds/Game | 128 (21st) | 100 (7th) |
Team Leaders
| Pittsburgh Steelers 2024 Leaders | |
|---|---|
| Russell Wilson | 197/305, 2334 yds, 15 TDs |
| George Pickens | 58 rec, 900 yds, 3 TDs |
| Najee Harris | 251 rush, 1007 yds, 5 TDs |
| Cincinnati Bengals 2024 Leaders | |
|---|---|
| Joe Burrow | 423/606, 4641 yds, 42 TDs |
| Ja’Marr Chase | 117 rec, 1612 yds, 16 TDs |
| Chase Brown | 229 rush, 990 yds, 7 TDs |
Steelers Notes
- STEELERS secured 21st-consecutive season without losing record, tied with 1965-85 Dallas Cowboys for longest streak in NFL history.
- QB RUSSELL WILSON totaled 260 yards (205 pass, season-high 55 rush) with rush TD last week, 33rd-career game with 50+ rush yards, 5th-most ever by QB. Has 90+ rating in 5 of past 6. Is 4-1 in 5 home starts this season. Set season highs in pass yards (414) & rating (126.4) with 3 TD passes in Week 13 meeting. Needs TD pass to become 4th player ever with 350+ TD passes in 1st 13 seasons.
- RB NAJEE HARRIS rushed for 74 yards last week. Had 129 scrimmage yards (75 rush, 54 rec.) in Week 13 meeting & aims for 5th in row vs. Cin. with 75+ rush yards & rush TD. Is 4th player since 2000 & 1st since Adrian Peterson in 2007 with 1,000+ rush yards & 5+ rush TDs in each of 1st 4 seasons.
- RB JAYLEN WARREN had season-high 112 scrimmage yards (71 rush, 41 rec.) in Week 17. Aims for 3rd in row with 90+ scrimmage yards. Had 55 rec. yards in Week 13 meeting & aims for his 4th in row vs. Cin. with 50+ scrimmage yards.
- WR GEORGE PICKENS has 50+ rec. yards in 7 of his past 8. Had 74 rec. yards & TD catch in Week 13 meeting & aims for his 5th in row vs. Cin. with 55+ rec. yards. Needs 100 rec. yards for 2nd-straight 1,000-yard season.
- TE PAT FREIERMUTH led team with 7 catches for 60 yards last week. Had 6 catches for 68 yards & TD in Week 13 meeting.
- LB T.J. WATT had TFL & PD last week. Has TFL in 6 of past 7. Had 3 TFL, 2 sacks & FF in Week 13 meeting & aims for his 4th in row vs. Cin. with sack & FF. Leads NFL with 6 FFs & ranks tied-4th with 11.5 sacks in 2024.
- LB ALEX HIGHSMITH had PD last week. Has sack in 3 of past 4.
- LB PATRICK QUEEN aims for 10th in row with 7+ tackles.
- S MINKAH FITZPATRICK had 7 tackles in Week 17 & aims for 6th in row with 5+ tackles. Has PD in 3 of his past 4 vs. Cin.
Bengals Notes
- QB JOE BURROW completed 39 of 49 atts. (season-high 79.6 pct.) for 412 yards with 4 TDs (3 pass, 1 rush) vs. 0 INTs & 122.1 rating last week, 8th-straight game with 250+ pass yards & 3+ TD passes, longest streak in NFL history. Has 7 games with 400+ pass yards, tied-most ever by QB in 1st 5 seasons. Has 2+ TD passes & 95+ rating in 7 of 8 road games this season. Aims for his 4th in row vs. Pit. with 300+ pass yards & 2+ TD passes. Leads NFL with franchiserecord 4,641 pass yards & 42 TD passes with 8 INTs in 2024 & can become 1st player ever with 5,000+ pass yards & fewer than 10 INTs in a season.
- RB CHASE BROWN has 90+ scrimmage yards in 8 straight games, longest active streak in NFL. Aims for 4th in row on road with 110+ scrimmage yards. Has TD in 3 of past 4 on road. Had 100 scrimmage yards (70 rush, 30 rec.) & rush TD in Week 13 meeting. Needs 10 rush yards for 1st-career season with 1,000+ rush yards.
- WR JA’MARR CHASE had 9 catches for 102 yards last week, 12th-straight game with 5+ catches & 7th-straight game with 75+ rec. yards, both longest active streaks in NFL. Aims for 5th in row with 90+ rec. yards. Has 8 rec. TDs in his past 5 on road. Had 86 rec. yards & TD catch in Week 13 meeting. Leads NFL in catches (franchise-record 117), rec. yards (franchise-record 1,612) & rec. TDs (16) in 2024.
- WR TEE HIGGINS led team with season-high 11 catches for 131 yards & careerbest 3 TDs in Week 17, 3rd-straight game with 50+ rec. yards & rec. TD. Had TD catch in Week 13 meeting & has 115+ rec. yards in each of 3 career games at Pit.
- TE MIKE GESICKI tied career high with 10 catches for 86 yards last week.
- DE TREY HENDRICKSON aims for 5th in row with TFL & 3rd in row with 0.5+ sacks. Has sack in each of his 3 career games at Pit. Tied for NFL lead with 14 sacks this season.
- DE JOSEPH OSSAI aims for 3rd in row with FF & 0.5+ sacks. Had sack in Week 13 meeting.
- LB GERMAINE PRATT had 7 tackles & 2nd INT of season in Week 17. Aims for 8th in row with 5+ tackles. Aims for 3rd in row on road with TFL.
- S GENO STONE has INT in 3 of past 4 & in each of past 2 on road.
Steelers TV Coverage
This week’s game will be broadcast on nationally on ESPN. Local coverage available within the Pittsburgh market on ABC affiliate WTAE (Channel 4 Pittsburgh).
Steelers Radio Coverage
Flagship Stations
- WDVE-FM (102.5)
- WBGG-AM (970)
Pennsylvania Affiliates
- Altoona-WVAM (1430)
- Altoona-WRKY (104.9)
- Beaver Falls-WBVP (1230)
- Beaver Falls-WMBA (1460)
- Bedford-WBVE (107.5)
- Butler-WISR (680)
- Chambersburg-WCHA (800)
- Clarendon-WKNB (104.3)
- Clarion-WCCR (92.7)
- Cooperstown-WUUZ (107.7)
- DuBois-WIFT (102.1)
- DuBois-WKFT (101.3)
- Erie-WRKT (104.9)
- Johnstown-WNTJ (1490)
- Johnstown-WRKW (99.1)
- Latrobe-WCNS (1480)
- Milton-WVLY (100.9)
- Saegertown-WUZZ (94.3)
- Somerset-WNTI (990)
- Starview-WONN (92.7)
- State College-WQWK (1450)
- Uniontown-WMBS (590)
- Washington-WJPA (1450)
- Williamsport-WCXR (99.3)
- Williamsport-WZXR (103.7)
Maryland Affiliates
- Cumberland-WRQE (106.1)
- Hagerstown-WHAG (1410)
Ohio Affiliates
- Fremont-WOHF (92.1)
- Marietta-WJAW (630)
- Youngstown-WNIO (1390)
Virginia Affiliates
- Vienna-WDMX (100.1)
West Virginia Affiliates
- Fairmont-WRLF (94.3)
- Fairmont-WMMN (920)
- New Martinsville-WXCR (92.3)
Steelers Nation Radio
Steelers Nation Radio is a 24-hour/day HD radio station dedicated specifically to the Pittsburgh Steelers. It can be heard on www.steelers.com, the official Steelers app or the iHeart app on your smartphone, and at 102.5 WDVE HD2.
Statistics and game information courtesy of the Pittsburgh Steelers and/or National Football League.
