The Worksheet, a fantasy football overview by Rich Hribar, breaking down everything you need to know for the Week 12 Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals Sunday afternoon game.
| Pittsburgh | Rank | @ | Cincinnati | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 | Spread | -3.5 | ||
| 20.8 | Implied Total | 24.3 | ||
| 21.4 | 20 | Points/Gm | 26.8 | 9 |
| 22.6 | 14 | Points All./Gm | 21.6 | 9 |
| 65.9 | 7 | Plays/Gm | 61 | 28 |
| 63.2 | 15 | Opp. Plays/Gm | 63.4 | 18 |
| 5 | 27 | Off. Yards/Play | 6 | 4 |
| 5.6 | 18 | Def. Yards/Play | 5.5 | 14 |
| 37.03% | 26 | Rush% | 43.11% | 13 |
| 62.97% | 7 | Pass% | 56.89% | 20 |
| 42.09% | 20 | Opp. Rush % | 36.75% | 4 |
| 57.91% | 13 | Opp. Pass % | 63.25% | 29 |
- The Steelers have the lowest point differential (-12 points) among all teams with a winning record this season.
- Pittsburgh leads the NFL with a 68.8% passing rate inside of the red zone.
- Cincinnati has a 61.5% passing rate in the red zone, fourth in the league.
- The Bengals lead the league with 14 offensive touchdowns from outside of the red zone.
- The Steelers are now allowing 4.1 carries per game (31st) of 10 or more yards and a league-high 70.5 yards per game on explosive carries.
- Pittsburgh running backs are 30th in yards before contact per carry (0.83) while Cincinnati backs are 26th (0.95).
Trust = spike production for that player
Quarterback
Joe Burrow: Burrow has hit his first lull of the season, posting weeks as the QB25 (7.4 points) and QB21 (9.0 points) in his past two starts. Both the Browns and Raiders just sat back in coverage against the Bengals in those games, blitzing Burrow on just nine total dropbacks (11.1%).
Burrow is still carrying high splits against and without the blitz this year. When he has not been blitzed, Burrow ranks 13th in completion rate (67.6%), 17th in yards per attempt (7.4 Y/A), and 17th in average depth of target (8.3 yards) with 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
When blitzed, Burrow is sixth in completion rate (70.1%), second in yards per attempt (11.3 Y/A), and fourth in aDOT (10.1 yards) with eight touchdowns and three interceptions.
The Steelers blitzed him on 31.6% of his dropbacks (he had only 19 dropbacks in the game) back in Week 3 in which Burrow was 4-of-5 passing for 12.8 yards per attempt and two touchdowns. The Steelers have since toned down sending extra rushers, now ranking 28th in blitz rate (18.5%) overall.
Burrow threw the ball just 18 times in that game total as the Bengals ran a season-low 42 offensive plays, but Burrow did throw three touchdown passes and averaged 9.6 yards per pass attempt.
Pittsburgh still has questions defensively on whether or not T.J. Watt or Joe Haden will play on Sunday, but they should get Minkah Fitzpatrick back on the field. Watt is the big one, though. Watt did not play when these teams met earlier in the season and the Steelers were only able to pressure Burrow three times. Without Watt available this past week, the Steelers pressure Justin Herbert on just 18.0% of his dropbacks, the second-lowest rate of any quarterback in Week 11.
If Watt remains out, Burrow has added appeal as a fringe-QB1 option since the Steelers will struggle to get pressure without blitzing. But Burrow’s splits versus teams aggressively sending extra defenders versus teams potentially pulling back and playing coverage is something to take note of.