After putting up one of the worst performances of his career in Week 10, Aaron Rodgers will be out to silence critics on Sunday when the Pittsburgh Steelers host the Cincinnati Bengals. This matchup went as poorly as anyone could have envisioned the first time around, but it wasn't because of a lack of offense.
The Steelers fell in a 31-33 loss to the Bengals on Thursday Night Football in Week 7. Now Mike Tomlin's team will get their shot at redemption against this 3-6 AFC North opponent in Week 11. Pittsburgh was fortunate to escape playing against quarterback Joe Burrow and star edge rusher Trey Hendrickson the first time around.
And just like things have been going all season for the Steelers, their luck continues this week.
As we expected, Joe Burrow won't make his comeback this week, though the superstar quarterback has his sights set on a Thanksgiving return (which is sooner than we expected). However, the Steelers' offense is set to catch another fortunate break with Hendrickson already being listed as doubtful for Sunday's contest, per ESPN's Ben Baby.
The Pittsburgh Steelers' offense is set to avoid Trey Hendrickson for the second time this season
Surprisingly, Hendrickson played in Weeks 1-6, missed the Steelers game in Week 7, then suited up in Week 8 against the Jets. Unfortunately for the Bengals, the All-Pro edge rusher is dealing with a hip/pelvis injury. This caused him to miss practice early in the week.
Despite coming off the bye week, Hendrickson is highly unlikely to see the field in Acrisure Stadium on Sunday. This means that the Steelers will have escaped playing against Hendrickson both times this season. Last year, the talented pass rusher earned three-and-a-half sacks in the final game of the season against Pittsburgh.
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Rodgers and the Steelers' offense couldn't ask for a better situation on Sunday. Not only will the Bengals be without one of the league's best pass rushers, but Cincinnati already has the worst offense in the NFL. Entering Week 11, the Bengals' defense ranks 32nd in points per game allowed (33.3) and 32nd in yards allowed per game (426.6).
Cincy is currently on pace to have one of the worst defenses in NFL history, so if the offense can't bounce back this week, that will raise some serious red flags.
Aaron Rodgers is coming off a game in which he earned just 161 passing yards and a 4.5 QBR. Don't be surprised if the Pittsburgh Steelers put up a volcanic offensive performance this week, with all of the stars aligning for this team to have a monstrous bounce-back offensive performance in Week 11.