With Week 9 of the NFL season just about wrapped up, outside of Monday night’s game, attention is already shifting to Week 10.
There may not be a bigger game on the slate than Sunday’s Sunday Night Football matchup in Cincinnati, where the Bengals (6-2) will host the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2) in a pivotal AFC North showdown.
Both teams sit atop the division, and Pittsburgh will look to sweep the season series against Cincinnati. The Bengals, meanwhile, will try to even the series and take sole possession of first place.
Mike Tomlin Makes Strong Statement on Steelers-Bengals
Following the Week 9 Sunday Night Football matchup between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Chicago Bears, longtime Steelers coach and current NBC Sports analyst Mike Tomlin previewed the AFC North showdown with a strong statement about both teams.
“First of all, it’s AFC North football, and you know I love that, man. You can airmail me right to Cincinnati. Me and Cris [Collinsworth] could go get a five-way. You gotta be from Cincinnati to know what that’s about,” Tomlin joked. “But in terms of the matchup, man, I’m just really excited about it because it’s good on good. It’s Joe Burrow in that Cincinnati Bengals passing game versus T.J. Watt and the four-man rush of the Steelers. And that’s what it is.
“You can’t rush five against Joe Burrow and company, man, he’ll pick you apart. It thins you out too much on the back end. They’re gonna deploy seven people to minimize those receivers and try to keep the ball in front of them,” he added. “And it’s gonna be about four-on-five in terms of T.J. and company versus the offensive line, or the protection of Joe Burrow. That’s been the texture of this series for a long time because of the significant players on both sides. And that’s what I think we’re gonna see on Sunday night. Bring your popcorn and get your cameras ready.”
Mike Tomlin previews Steelers-Bengals next Sunday night and says to get your popcorn and cameras ready!!!! 🍿📸 #Steelers #NFL @CoachTomlin https://t.co/ABUdBDknW5
— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) November 9, 2026
Tomlin is in his first season with the NBC Sports crew after spending 19 seasons as the Steelers’ head coach. During that time, he never had a losing season and won one Super Bowl.
Looking at the Bengals
Cincinnati’s success this season comes down to several factors, but the defense has improved drastically from last season, and the offensive line is protecting quarterback Joe Burrow at an elite level.
Those two areas have always seemed to be the Bengals’ Achilles’ heels. Meanwhile, the offense, which many expected to be effective, is delivering exactly that.
Burrow leads the NFL in passing touchdowns with 23, and he’s totaled four or more touchdowns in four consecutive games. He also has two of the game’s best wide receivers on the outside in Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins who are playing at an elite level, which will be a tall task to try and stop for Pittsburgh on Sunday night.
Mike Tomlin Makes Strong Statement on Pivotal Week 10 Steelers-Bengals Game