Steelers GameDay Cheat Sheet: Week 3 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 (2-0) at Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1)

The Pittsburgh Steelers return home on Sunday for their first AFC North game of the season, hosting the undefeated Cincinnati Bengals at Acrisure Stadium.

Pittsburgh is looking to rebound from a 20-3 loss to the New England Patriots that exposed many of the same offensive issues seen in Week 1. The Steelers failed to score a touchdown, converted only two of 12 third downs and finished with 235 total yards despite possessing the football for nearly 33 minutes.

Cincinnati enters Week 3 at 2-0 following a 20-6 road win over the Houston Texans. Joe Burrow threw for 207 yards and two touchdowns, while Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins combined for 170 receiving yards.

The matchup also renews one of Pittsburgh’s most familiar divisional rivalries. The Steelers own a significant advantage in the all-time series and won the most recent meeting 34-12 at Acrisure Stadium last November.

This preview breaks down the key stats and notes for Sunday’s matchup, along with where you can watch and listen to the game.

Series History

• All-Time: Steelers lead, 72-41 – Last: Steelers Win, 34-12 (Nov. 16, 2025)
• Regular Season: Steelers lead, 70-41 – Cincinnati has won two of the past three
• Steelers Home: Steelers lead, 37-19 – Last: Steelers Win, 34-12 (Nov. 16, 2025)
• Steelers Away: Steelers lead, 33-22 – Last: Bengals Win, 33-31 (Oct. 16, 2025)
• Playoffs: Steelers lead, 2-0 – Last: Steelers Win, 18-16 (Jan. 9, 2016)

Series Notes

• Sunday’s game will be the 114th overall meeting and 112th regular-season meeting between the Steelers and Bengals.
• Pittsburgh leads the regular-season series 70-41 and the overall series 72-41.
• The Steelers are 37-19 against Cincinnati in regular-season games played in Pittsburgh.
• The previous 111 regular-season meetings with Cincinnati are the second-most against any opponent in Steelers franchise history.
• Since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, Cincinnati is Pittsburgh’s most frequently played regular-season opponent.
• Pittsburgh’s .631 regular-season winning percentage against Cincinnati is its highest against any opponent it has faced at least 45 times.
• The Steelers’ 70 regular-season wins over the Bengals are second-most against any opponent in franchise history.
• Pittsburgh defeated Cincinnati 34-12 in the most recent meeting on Nov. 16, 2025.

The Coaches

Steelers – Mike McCarthy

• At Franchise: 1-1 (1st season)
• Overall: 175-113-2 (19 seasons)
• vs. Bengals: 3-3

Bengals – Zac Taylor

• At Franchise: 54-63-1 (8th season)
• Overall: 54-63-1 (8 seasons)
• vs. Steelers: 6-8

Gameday Information

• Date: Sunday, September 27th, 2026
• Time: 1:00 PM ET
• Location: Acrisure Stadium | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Surface: Natural Grass
• Capacity: 68,400
• TV: CBS | Locally KDKA-TV
  Ian Eagle (play-by-play), Ross Tucker (analysis), Evan Washburn (field reporter)
• Steelers Audio Network: 102.5 WDVE-FM (Pittsburgh) & 970 WBGG-AM (Pittsburgh) plus affiliates
  Rob King (play-by-play), Max Starks (analysis), Missi Matthews (field reporter)
• Satellite Radio:
  • Steelers: Sirius 142, XM/SXM 199, Internet 826
  • Bengals: Sirius 174, XM/SXM 268, Internet 806
• Referee: Clay Martin
• Vegas: Bengals -3.5 | Over/Under: 42.5

SCU Pregame and Postgame Shows

View the videos below on YouTube or visit our podcast page to find it on all popular audio platforms.

Steelers face first AFC North test against unbeaten Bengals

The Steelers return home looking to bounce back from a rough loss in New England, but the challenge gets tougher with the unbeaten Cincinnati Bengals coming to Pittsburgh for the first AFC North game of the Mike McCarthy era.

Joe and Brian break down what has to change for Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers offense, including protection issues, third-down struggles and the lack of explosive plays. They also look at the matchup on the other side, where Pittsburgh has to deal with Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Chase Brown while trying to eliminate the big plays that hurt the defense last week.

Plus, they go through the key matchups, players to watch and their predictions for Steelers-Bengals in Week 3.

The Steel City Underground Podcast can be found on:

SCU Steelers News & Notes

Game Stats and Notes

Team Comparison

Statistics through Week 2 of the 2026 NFL regular season.

Team Leaders

Steelers Leaders

• Aaron Rodgers: 47/79, 408 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
• Jaylen Warren: 21 carries, 89 rushing yards; 7 receptions, 61 receiving yards; 150 scrimmage yards
• Pat Freiermuth: 9 receptions, 78 yards, 1 TD
• DK Metcalf: 8 receptions, 67 yards
• T.J. Watt: 3.5 sacks, 4 tackles for loss
• Alex Highsmith: 3 sacks, 4 tackles for loss

Bengals Leaders

• Joe Burrow: 45/66, 461 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
• Chase Brown: 36 carries, 136 rushing yards, 1 TD; 8 receptions, 24 receiving yards; 160 scrimmage yards
• Tee Higgins: 8 receptions, 154 yards
• Ja’Marr Chase: 9 receptions, 87 yards, 2 TD
• Jonathan Allen: 2 sacks, 4 tackles for loss
• Cedric Johnson: 2 sacks, 2 tackles for loss
• Evan McPherson: 6/6 field goals, 5/5 extra points, 23 points

Steelers Notes

• QB Aaron Rodgers enters Week 3 with 408 passing yards, one touchdown and one interception. Rodgers has 1,527 passing yards, an average of 254.5 per game, and 12 touchdown passes in six career games against Cincinnati. He can tie Ben Roethlisberger with 165 regular-season wins, fifth-most in NFL history.
• RB Jaylen Warren led Pittsburgh with 77 scrimmage yards against New England, rushing for 43 yards and adding two receptions for 34 yards. Warren has at least 70 scrimmage yards in four of his past five games and rushed for 62 yards in the most recent meeting with Cincinnati.
• RB Rico Dowdle recorded 44 scrimmage yards against New England, with 22 rushing and 22 receiving. In his last game against Cincinnati as a member of the Dallas Cowboys, Dowdle produced 141 scrimmage yards, including 131 on the ground.
• WR DK Metcalf enters Sunday looking for his fourth consecutive game with at least four receptions. He has at least 40 receiving yards in three of his past four home games and caught five passes for 49 yards in the most recent Steelers-Bengals meeting.
• WR Roman Wilson caught five passes for 28 yards against New England.
• WR Germie Bernard caught four passes for a team-high 35 receiving yards in Week 2.
• TE Pat Freiermuth has recorded at least five receptions, 65 receiving yards and a touchdown in three of his past four games against Cincinnati.
• LB T.J. Watt recorded four tackles and 1.5 sacks against New England. Watt enters Week 3 with 3.5 sacks, ranking second in the NFL. He can tie Hall of Famer Richard Dent with 28 career games of at least two sacks among players in their first 10 NFL seasons since 1982.
• LB Alex Highsmith recorded three tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack and a pass defensed in Week 2. He enters Sunday looking for his sixth consecutive game with at least two tackles for loss and his fifth straight with a sack.
• LB Nick Herbig finished Week 2 with seven tackles, three tackles for loss and a forced fumble. Herbig has recorded a sack in three of his past four games against Cincinnati, including the most recent meeting.
• DT Derrick Harmon led Pittsburgh with eight tackles against New England and added half a sack.
• CB Jalen Ramsey recorded five tackles in Week 2 and enters Sunday looking for his third consecutive game against Cincinnati with a pass defensed.

Bengals Notes

• QB Joe Burrow passed for 207 yards and two touchdowns with a 105.2 passer rating against Houston. Burrow has thrown at least two touchdown passes in four of his past five games and enters Week 3 with 461 passing yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
• RB Chase Brown led Cincinnati with 80 rushing yards in Week 2. Brown has scored a touchdown in four of his past five games and has at least 75 scrimmage yards in six consecutive games. He had 127 scrimmage yards, including 99 rushing, in the most recent meeting with Pittsburgh.
• WR Ja’Marr Chase caught seven passes for 75 yards and two touchdowns against Houston. Chase has recorded at least six receptions, 85 receiving yards and a touchdown in three of his past four games against Pittsburgh.
• WR Tee Higgins led Cincinnati with 95 receiving yards on five catches in Week 2. Higgins has scored a receiving touchdown in four of his past five games against Pittsburgh and in three of his past four road games.
• LB Demetrius Knight led Cincinnati with 12 tackles in Week 2.
• DT Jonathan Allen recorded three tackles for loss and a sack last week. He enters Sunday looking for his third consecutive road game with at least two tackles for loss and a sack.
• DE Cedric Johnson recorded a career-high two sacks in Week 2 and has a sack in three of his past four games.
• DE Shemar Stewart recorded a sack against Houston and has a tackle for loss in three of his past four games.
• CB Dax Hill finished Week 2 with 10 tackles and a career-high four passes defensed. He enters Sunday looking for his sixth consecutive road game with a pass defensed.
• CB DJ Turner recorded five tackles and two passes defensed last week. He has a pass defensed in three of his four career games against Pittsburgh.
• S Jordan Battle recorded eight tackles and a pass defensed against Houston and enters Week 3 looking for his 10th consecutive road game with at least five tackles.

Steelers Broadcasts

Steelers TV Coverage

This week’s game will be broadcast regionally on CBS. STEELERS COVERAGE in RED.

Regional broadcast image courtesy of 506sports.com.

Be sure to check back here weekly as we publish which areas of the United States will carry the game over traditional, over-the-air (OTA) antenna signals. If you do not have the ability to receive these channels locally, Steelers games are also available in-market via Steelers.com or applicable streaming services. You may also be able to watch games by subscribing to NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV or watching on delay via NFL+.

Steelers Local Broadcast Affiliates

• KDKA (CBS/2 – Pittsburgh)

Weekday Games

• Thursday Night Football games are exclusive to Amazon Prime.
• Sunday Night Football games are nationally on NBC and streaming on Peacock.
• Monday Night Football games are exclusive to ESPN with some simulcasts on ABC.
• A small amount of games, such as international or holiday games, may be exclusive to other platforms.

Steelers Radio Coverage

For those who enjoy listening to the game on radio, you can hear Steelers games on the following terrestrial stations, as well as on the Steelers website and app (in-market only) and nationwide with specific SiriusXM radio packages.

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 (92.7)
• 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 (104.3)
• 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

West Virginia Affiliates

• Fairmont-WRLF (94.3)
• Fairmont-WMMN (920)
• New Martinsville-WXCR (92.3)

2026 Pittsburgh Steelers Schedule

Note: All times Eastern. Schedule subject to change due to flexible scheduling.

Statistics and game information courtesy of the Pittsburgh Steelers and/or National Football League.