The Pittsburgh Steelers may need to worry about the Cincinnati Bengals in 2026 if the defense takes a step forward and they get 17 games of a healthy Joe Burrow, but Orlando Brown Jr. and the offensive line likely aren't going to keep a defensive line that features names like T.J. Watt and Cam Heyward awake at night.
That didn't stop Brown from issuing a very bold decree about the Bengals' line and their potential across the NFL. Brown may have inadvertently given the Steelers bulletin board material when he said Cincinnati had the best pass-blocking offensive line in the league.
“I really think, and I say this confidently, I really feel like we got the best pass protection unit in the NFL,” Brown said, via the Locked On Bengals podcast. “There isn’t a lot of groups that could come do what we do on a week-to-week basis and have the success that we’ve had, especially with the circumstances."
That sounds like someone who is weeks away from Watt speeding by him on his way to Burrow.
The Pittsburgh Steelers could make Bengals OT Orlando Brown Jr. eat his words after OL praise
The two factors that have consistently prevented Burrow and the Bengals from getting back to the Super Bowl are a lack of high-end defensive talent outside of Trey Hendrickson (who has left for a division rival) and poor offensive line play. Even when they did have postseason success, the line was perhaps their biggest flaw.
The interior of this offensive line is where the Steelers can have the bulk of their success. Dylan Fairchild is as average as they come, and asking the 1-2 punch of Ted Karras and Dalton Risner at center and right guard to slow down some of the best interior rushes in the NFL is high risk, to say the least.
Even with those qualifications, Watt and Heyward won't be able to waltz into the backfield unimpeded. Brown is still a worthwhile starter, Amarius Mims may be the best of the starting five due to his rapid development, and fourth-round pick Connor Lew was regarded as a Top 50 talent before his injury. This may be the year for the Steelers to really bulldoze this front.
The only way for the Bengals to cash this check Brown's mouth has written is for Burrow to go supernova, which is entirely within his grasp. However, the Steelers have been able to get home against Brown and his teammates before, and they have the horses to do it again in 2026.
Add us as a preferred source on Google