5 bold predictions for the Steelers in Week 15 vs. Bengals

Here are five bold predictions for the Steelers vs. the Bengals in week 15

While the Steelers should ideally have an easier time putting away the Bengals this week as opposed to the struggles they had with the Bills last week, there are no easy games in the NFL. Throw in the team’s offensive struggles and suddenly this game could be far closer than fans may like to admit.

Here are five bold predictions that could ultimately swing the outcome of this week’s game against the Bengals.

The passing game still struggles

In recent weeks, the Steelers offense has become entirely dependent on the passing game, and more specifically on the short passing game. As a result, this offense has become extremely one-dimensional and the team has suffered back-to-back losses over the past two weeks. While the Bengals secondary could provide a legitimate chance for this offense to get back on the right track, I don’t think this deep passing game will be on the same page yet.

It was evident last week that Ben Roethlisberger is struggling even more with his deep passing game than he did earlier in the season. Specifically, on the final interception, Roethlisberger failed to follow through with his pass, something that is critical on deep passes. Despite James Washington having his man beat, the pass was horribly underthrown and became an easy interception.

While his deep passing has been off for most of the year, it seems like his knee has completely eliminated the deep game from Roethlisberger’s arsenal. Until that is healed, it seems hard to believe that the team will have success throwing the ball deep. This area will require a healthy Roethlisberger before it can be counted on in the offense once again. I doubt the Steelers have that on Monday.