Coming off a physical Thursday Night Football showdown against the Cleveland Browns, the Pittsburgh Steelers look to take on another division rival in the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Bengals and Steelers have already faced one another during the 2019 NFL season. However, their upcoming game will be much more different than their Week 4 matchup. Cincinnati now has rookie Ryan Finley under center, after the team decided to bench Andy Dalton after their Week 8 defeat. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh will have several key players inactive.
Maurkice Pouncey will serve the first of his two-game suspension due to his part in the brutal scuffle at the end of Thursday Night Football against the Browns while other star players such as JuJu Smith-Schuster and James Conner look to miss the match up as well with injuries. Other playmakers will have to show up for the Steelers who are currently second in the AFC North with a 5-5 record on the year. This is my biggest concern heading into Sunday.
Pittsburgh Steelers week 12 prediction overview
Mason Rudolph is coming off his worst career game entering this Sunday’s contest against the Cincinnati Bengals. He is also entering play as one of the most talked-about players in the league. Not only was Rudolph hit over the head with his own helmet, but he is currently getting his character questioned.
All of these factors should light a fire under the Steelers starting quarterback. Look for Rudolph, and Pittsburgh to put up similar passing statistics this week compared to the two teams last match up. I believe this even with a depleted wide receiver group. During week 4, Rudolph completed 24 out of his 28 passing attempts. He also threw for 229 yards, and two touchdown passes.