4 biggest causes of concern for Steelers vs. Bengals Week 10

Joe Burrow

The biggest threat from the Bengals this week is rookie quarterback Burrow. Yes, he is playing behind an offensive line that resembles a turnstile and the Steelers have had notable success against rookie quarterbacks, but it looks like the Steelers got a franchise player in Burrow. While his stats haven’t been perfect by any means, he looks composed in the pocket and is succeeding despite not having great talent around him.

On paper, it seems silly to say that Burrow will succeed against the Steelers. For starters, rookies have always seemed to struggle against the Steelers. As well, his bad offensive line makes the pass rushers jobs easier, and the teams secondary seems to match up well against the Bengals receivers. That said, similar things were said last week, and we all saw how that turned out.

The biggest issue could be the Steelers using more zone against the Bengals. While Burrow certainly isn’t a scrambling quarterback, he is mobile enough to be a threat to take off. The problem is, zone coverage is far easier to throw against, and this team is built around man coverage. We saw what excess zone coverage could do last week, and if the team is forced to use it again, it could be a problem for this defense.