Latest / The Steelers Report / HR 1: Bengals at Steelers Preview, 5 Keys on Offense & Defense

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HR 1: Bengals at Steelers Preview, 5 Keys on Offense & Defense · The Steelers Report

• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Oh, Binger, I got to tell you, as soon as
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: he turned the corner and went.
• 0:10
  Speaker 2: Wang dang doodles out in that sidelines, you knew nobody
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: was going to catch him.
• 0:15
  Speaker 3: Catch him, let's just get after it.
• 0:19
  Speaker 4: That was a slobber knocker, yeah, and everybody on the
• 0:22
  Speaker 4: sidelines screamed and won.
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: Oh, great googly moogly, was that a beautiful moment.
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: This is the Steelers Report with Brian Batko and Ed
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: Troup on Steelers Nation Radio, a part of the Steelers
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: Audio Network.
• 0:41
  Speaker 5: Listen, you know it's going to be a good show,
• 0:44
  Speaker 5: a good day, a good weekend, and a good game
• 0:47
  Speaker 5: for the Pittsburgh Steelers when you start that way with
• 0:49
  Speaker 5: the great Craig Wolf League.
• 0:53
  Speaker 3: Yes, indeed.
• 0:53
  Speaker 5: Wolf will enter into Steelers enshrinement this weekend. The Hall
• 0:59
  Speaker 5: of Honor class of 2026 here this evening on Friday night.
• 1:03
  Speaker 5: And then at halftime this upcoming Sunday, when the 2-0
• 1:08
  Speaker 5: undefeated Cincinnati Bengals visit the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are 1-1
• 1:13
  Speaker 5: on the season. Like I said, Double B, there is
• 1:16
  Speaker 5: no better way to start a show going into the
• 1:19
  Speaker 5: weekend than that.
• 1:21
  Speaker 4: Absolutely. We miss you, Wolf. We're happy for you, though,
• 1:25
  Speaker 4: delighted and elated that you get this recognition. Obviously, you
• 1:29
  Speaker 4: got it initially back in training camp, but even more
• 1:33
  Speaker 4: honors this weekend for the late, great Craig Wolf League,
• 1:36
  Speaker 4: Kevin Colbert, JT Thomas. It'll be a heavy weekend in
• 1:41
  Speaker 4: a way, remembering Wolf, but it can't be too heavy
• 1:44
  Speaker 4: because he was so light as a human being, and
• 1:46
  Speaker 4: so such a breath of fresh air every time you
• 1:50
  Speaker 4: saw him. I didn't know Wolf for as long as
• 1:52
  Speaker 4: a lot of my counterparts on the Steelers beat or
• 1:56
  Speaker 4: even Wes Euler and Matt Williamson who spent a ton
• 2:00
  Speaker 4: of time with him here on these SNR airwaves but
• 2:05
  Speaker 4: you know the occasional pre-game press box meal whether it
• 2:10
  Speaker 4: was in Pittsburgh whether it was in Cincinnati actually for
• 2:14
  Speaker 4: some previous Steelers Bengals encounters Wolf always just made you
• 2:19
  Speaker 4: feel right at home and was always so easy to
• 2:23
  Speaker 4: talk to. And I'm glad we passed by each other
• 2:27
  Speaker 4: in this life. And it's going to be, yeah, going
• 2:29
  Speaker 4: to be a great weekend, going to be a great
• 2:31
  Speaker 4: Sunday on the North Shore. And it's great to have
• 2:35
  Speaker 4: Wolf as one of the three who will kind of
• 2:37
  Speaker 4: preempt everything before the game.
• 2:40
  Speaker 3: Wolf was the best, no doubt about that.
• 2:42
  Speaker 5: And we are going to devote our last segment here
• 2:44
  Speaker 5: today at 3.45. To Wolf, we'll have some special audio.
• 2:49
  Speaker 5: You heard some of it right there at the top, Brian.
• 2:50
  Speaker 5: We'll have some more of that, as well as portions
• 2:53
  Speaker 5: of an interview that I did with Wolf a couple
• 2:55
  Speaker 5: years ago before I even arrived here on Steelers Nation Radio.
• 2:59
  Speaker 5: I had an opportunity to meet Wolf a handful of times.
• 3:02
  Speaker 5: Like you, Brian, I didn't know Wolf as personal as
• 3:05
  Speaker 5: guys like, obviously, Bill Hillgrove and Rob King and Wes
• 3:10
  Speaker 5: Euler you mentioned, even our own Tom Offerman here and
• 3:13
  Speaker 5: Matt Williamson, those guys. spent a lot more time than
• 3:16
  Speaker 5: I did, but the few interactions that I had, the
• 3:18
  Speaker 5: few times I had him on my show were highlights
• 3:20
  Speaker 5: of my career so far. I put a post out
• 3:24
  Speaker 5: there on social media this morning about Wolf, and I
• 3:26
  Speaker 5: truly mean this. When I walk into this studio, and
• 3:29
  Speaker 5: this is now my second year with SNR, I never
• 3:32
  Speaker 5: lose sight of guys like Wolf and Tunch and Myron
• 3:35
  Speaker 5: Cope and people that I grew up with listening to
• 3:38
  Speaker 5: and reading Del Lawley's articles, which I know now you're
• 3:41
  Speaker 5: in that role, at Steelers.com and, you know, got to
• 3:44
  Speaker 5: meet Dell over the years too. I never lose sight
• 3:47
  Speaker 5: of that when I turn this mic on and talk
• 3:49
  Speaker 5: to Steeler Nation, because those are the guys that I
• 3:51
  Speaker 5: loved and we're trying to bring that same energy to
• 3:54
  Speaker 5: all of you. Brian and I are each and every day,
• 3:56
  Speaker 5: as well as the other shows here on SNR. And
• 3:58
  Speaker 5: hopefully we're doing that. We'll probably never be able to
• 4:00
  Speaker 5: do it to the extent that they did, but we're
• 4:03
  Speaker 5: trying our best and just know that we never lose
• 4:05
  Speaker 5: sight of that, especially here on these airwaves.
• 4:09
  Speaker 4: And the great thing about Wolf, I mean, You heard
• 4:11
  Speaker 4: it in the sound bites there coming into the show. Gadzooks,
• 4:16
  Speaker 4: slobber knockers. He never lost sight of this is supposed
• 4:20
  Speaker 4: to be fun at the end of the day. This
• 4:22
  Speaker 4: whole football thing, playing a game or talking about a
• 4:25
  Speaker 4: game or writing about a game for a living is
• 4:29
  Speaker 4: a pretty wild concept in general. Make no mistake, Wolf
• 4:34
  Speaker 4: was a serious football man. He could talk X's and
• 4:37
  Speaker 4: O's and physicality with you until the cows came home.
• 4:41
  Speaker 4: But it was always supposed to be fun. And he
• 4:44
  Speaker 4: always had fun with it. And I think that's important
• 4:46
  Speaker 4: to remember, too. Going into this weekend, you're coming off
• 4:49
  Speaker 4: of a rough game in Foxborough against the Patriots. Don't
• 4:53
  Speaker 4: have any sort of dread against the Bengals on Sunday.
• 4:56
  Speaker 4: We don't know if the Steelers are going to win.
• 4:58
  Speaker 4: Maybe they will. Maybe they won't. But it's a huge game.
• 5:01
  Speaker 4: I was initially, Ed, trying to sort of be my usual,
• 5:06
  Speaker 4: not cynical self, but a little bit... what's the word
• 5:11
  Speaker 4: I'm looking for? The level-headed, even-keeled journalist in me was
• 5:15
  Speaker 4: kind of like, hey, let's not make more of this
• 5:17
  Speaker 4: than what it is. It's week three, starting one and two.
• 5:20
  Speaker 4: That's not the be-all, end-all if that happens. The season
• 5:24
  Speaker 4: is still way ahead of you. But on the other hand,
• 5:28
  Speaker 4: it's the AFC North, and it's the first one of
• 5:31
  Speaker 4: this season. And it does feel like a high-stakes early-season game.
• 5:36
  Speaker 4: So Just lean into that and enjoy it and let
• 5:39
  Speaker 4: the chips fall where they may. It's the NFL. It's
• 5:42
  Speaker 4: the ultimate reality show, man.
• 5:44
  Speaker 5: And as you said, the weather looks to be spot
• 5:46
  Speaker 5: on this weekend here in southwestern Pennsylvania. You got an
• 5:49
  Speaker 5: AFC North opponent rolling in here in the Cincinnati Bengals.
• 5:52
  Speaker 5: As you said, this is an important game because as
• 5:54
  Speaker 5: we've been talking about all week long, Brian, if the
• 5:57
  Speaker 5: Steelers lose this game, you got to turn around. Well,
• 6:00
  Speaker 5: whether you win or lose, either way, you're turning around
• 6:02
  Speaker 5: and going to Cleveland next Thursday night. but you'd rather
• 6:04
  Speaker 5: be going to Cleveland with a two and one record
• 6:06
  Speaker 5: rather than one and two takes the pressure off a
• 6:09
  Speaker 5: bit going into next Thursday. I think if they drop
• 6:12
  Speaker 5: this game on Sunday and they're one and two going
• 6:14
  Speaker 5: into Cleveland, man, I hate pulling out the must win
• 6:18
  Speaker 5: this early in the season, but gosh, you don't want
• 6:20
  Speaker 5: to be behind the eight ball that big at one
• 6:22
  Speaker 5: and three.
• 6:23
  Speaker 4: I can't call it a must win. I can't go
• 6:26
  Speaker 4: that far. I'm too literal of a person to say that,
• 6:29
  Speaker 4: but yeah, I mean, it's, keep the main thing, the
• 6:32
  Speaker 4: main thing. And to me, that is anticipating what we
• 6:37
  Speaker 4: have in front of us on Sunday, one o'clock kickoff.
• 6:40
  Speaker 4: It was mean Joe green's birthday yesterday, 80th again, happy
• 6:44
  Speaker 4: birthday to, to mean Joe number 75, all time legend. Great.
• 6:50
  Speaker 4: But he also said in his hall of fame induction speech,
• 6:55
  Speaker 4: if you're not at the stadium at one o'clock on
• 6:57
  Speaker 4: pit on Sunday in Pittsburgh, you're in the wrong place. And,
• 7:01
  Speaker 4: It's going to feel like that on Sunday. The smoke's
• 7:03
  Speaker 4: going to be coming, wafting from the grills. That would
• 7:05
  Speaker 4: also get our guy Craig Wolfley fired up, walking through
• 7:08
  Speaker 4: those tailgates with all the good food that's going to
• 7:11
  Speaker 4: be cooking on the North Shore outside of Accresure Stadium.
• 7:14
  Speaker 4: So yeah, it's going to be a fantastic atmosphere. And hey,
• 7:17
  Speaker 4: once the ball's kicked off at probably 102 or 103 p.m.,
• 7:21
  Speaker 4: you lock in and you ride the wave and live
• 7:24
  Speaker 4: and die on every run in completion and incompletion. We
• 7:27
  Speaker 4: know that. You're Steeler Nation. You're listening to Steelers Nation Radio.
• 7:30
  Speaker 4: But I'm just, I'm fired up as we sit here
• 7:33
  Speaker 4: on Friday, two days out at.
• 7:35
  Speaker 3: I am as well, Brian.
• 7:36
  Speaker 5: And, you know, I got to tell you, as the
• 7:38
  Speaker 5: week went on, I became more, I became tight for
• 7:42
  Speaker 5: this game.
• 7:42
  Speaker 3: A lot of Steelers nation is tight. And why wouldn't
• 7:44
  Speaker 3: you be?
• 7:45
  Speaker 5: You look back at the game this past weekend against
• 7:47
  Speaker 5: the Patriots, and you look back at what the Bengals
• 7:49
  Speaker 5: have done the first two weeks, and the Bengals are
• 7:51
  Speaker 5: clicking right now, offensively and defensively. And then came Thursday
• 7:55
  Speaker 5: night football last night. The Falcons at the Packers. I watched,
• 8:00
  Speaker 5: I didn't watch the whole game, but I watched a
• 8:01
  Speaker 5: portion of it, right? Caught the second half mostly. And
• 8:05
  Speaker 5: I thought to myself, wow, it's Thursday night, it's in
• 8:08
  Speaker 5: Green Bay, and the Falcons have dominated the Green Bay Packers.
• 8:12
  Speaker 3: So it reminded me that in the NFL, and this.
• 8:15
  Speaker 5: Is the way it's designed, any given Sunday, right? Anything
• 8:19
  Speaker 5: can happen. That was the same last night in Green Bay.
• 8:21
  Speaker 5: That could be the same this upcoming Sunday. Throw out
• 8:24
  Speaker 5: what happened the first two weeks with the Bengals. Throw
• 8:26
  Speaker 5: out what happened the first two weeks with the Steelers.
• 8:28
  Speaker 5: It's game time on Sunday, and who knows? Maybe the
• 8:31
  Speaker 5: black and gold will come out and play the type
• 8:33
  Speaker 5: of football game that we want them to.
• 8:35
  Speaker 4: Take your numbers and your narratives and your storylines and
• 8:40
  Speaker 4: shove them. No, I'm just kidding. Go to Steelers.com, read
• 8:43
  Speaker 4: Matt's stats, week three. Okay. Steelers versus Bengals Matt Williamson's
• 8:48
  Speaker 4: all over it that's right but no I mean I
• 8:50
  Speaker 4: I actually had the same exact feeling last night and
• 8:53
  Speaker 4: even when I woke up again this morning Ed because
• 8:56
  Speaker 4: I did watch that game with a lot of curiosity
• 8:59
  Speaker 4: last night because we know the Steelers faced the Falcons
• 9:01
  Speaker 4: in week one but Michael Penix Jr. was coming back
• 9:05
  Speaker 4: my my first grader I think I've mentioned this on
• 9:08
  Speaker 4: the show before he's pretty much in on the entire
• 9:10
  Speaker 4: NFC North for some reason so he does like the
• 9:13
  Speaker 4: Packers and jordan love and tucker craft so we watched
• 9:17
  Speaker 4: like the first quarter together and then we had to
• 9:19
  Speaker 4: send him up to bed it was a school night
• 9:21
  Speaker 4: but yeah i mean i just i i came away
• 9:24
  Speaker 4: from it with this feeling of like i'm done i'm
• 9:27
  Speaker 4: done trying to predict this league why do we even
• 9:30
  Speaker 4: do it i know why we do it it's fun
• 9:32
  Speaker 4: we got to give our keys to the game and
• 9:34
  Speaker 4: we'll give our thoughts and predictions and projections for steelers
• 9:37
  Speaker 4: bangles but take it with a grain of salt take
• 9:40
  Speaker 4: it with nothing these days in the nfl because it
• 9:42
  Speaker 4: is so week to week at I think you could
• 9:45
  Speaker 4: probably make a case, Ed, the first three weeks of
• 9:47
  Speaker 4: the season, and we're only one game into week three,
• 9:51
  Speaker 4: the most surprising result that could have happened, happened. And
• 9:56
  Speaker 4: I would say that was Cardinals over Chargers in week one.
• 10:01
  Speaker 4: Browns over Bucks in Tampa in week two. And now
• 10:04
  Speaker 4: already Falcons beating the Packers in a big spot in
• 10:09
  Speaker 4: Lambeau Field on Thursday night football to kick off week three.
• 10:13
  Speaker 4: It's it's absurd.
• 10:15
  Speaker 5: Not just beating the Packers in Green Bay, dominating the
• 10:19
  Speaker 5: Packers in Green Bay. And, you know, we went on
• 10:20
  Speaker 5: these airwaves this week, Brian, and we were talking about
• 10:23
  Speaker 5: how the Falcons might be the worst team in the NFL,
• 10:26
  Speaker 5: you know. And, you know, now I will say this
• 10:27
  Speaker 5: about Green Bay for three games, underwhelming, right? I mean,
• 10:31
  Speaker 5: they lost one, you know, barely won last week, and
• 10:33
  Speaker 5: now they lose this game at home. So maybe that
• 10:35
  Speaker 5: tells us something about the Green Bay Packers.
• 10:37
  Speaker 3: I don't know. But Atlanta looked good last night, especially
• 10:39
  Speaker 3: on offense.
• 10:41
  Speaker 4: Yeah, and that's, I guess, the natural thing that we
• 10:44
  Speaker 4: have after these games is to react and even overreact.
• 10:47
  Speaker 4: So now it's, oh, well, the Packers, they might stink.
• 10:50
  Speaker 4: They might be terrible this year. And every year there
• 10:53
  Speaker 4: is a team that just out of nowhere, inexplicably falls
• 10:57
  Speaker 4: apart and crumbles. You know, I would say that was
• 11:00
  Speaker 4: the Chiefs a season ago, Ed. And this year, I
• 11:03
  Speaker 4: guess the Packers and maybe now the Chargers are the
• 11:06
  Speaker 4: early contenders for such a ignominious distinction. But hopefully you
• 11:12
  Speaker 4: like that word. I know my my Uncle Tommy was listening.
• 11:15
  Speaker 4: And like when I use the word machinations earlier this
• 11:19
  Speaker 4: week on the show, that might have even been yesterday's show.
• 11:21
  Speaker 4: So shout out to Uncle Tommy. But yeah, I mean,
• 11:25
  Speaker 4: the Packers go to Tampa Bay next week. And knowing
• 11:28
  Speaker 4: the way things have gone in the NFL so far
• 11:30
  Speaker 4: this season, they'll roll up 45 points and look like
• 11:34
  Speaker 4: a Super Bowl contender against the Bucs.
• 11:36
  Speaker 5: Yeah, shout out to your Uncle Tommy. We appreciate him
• 11:39
  Speaker 5: listening and providing the insight and feedback there for you,
• 11:43
  Speaker 5: Double B.
• 11:43
  Speaker 3: And he's right. As I've said many a times.
• 11:45
  Speaker 5: On these airwaves, you're an award-winning journalist, and I truly
• 11:49
  Speaker 5: mean that. Go to Steelers.com. Check out Double B. It's
• 11:52
  Speaker 5: always good stuff to read. Steelers-Bengals Sunday. Again, Bengals 2-0,
• 11:57
  Speaker 5: Steelers 1-1. At this point in the season, Brian, and
• 12:00
  Speaker 5: it's early.
• 12:00
  Speaker 3: We're only nearing. Actually, it's the last game of September.
• 12:03
  Speaker 3: How about that? We'll turn the calendar around.
• 12:04
  Speaker 5: On Thursday, October 1st, next week on the first weekend
• 12:08
  Speaker 5: of October. So we'll be three games in by the
• 12:10
  Speaker 5: end of this Sunday, and then the Steelers will turn
• 12:12
  Speaker 5: their attention to Thursday night. But this is a Joe
• 12:15
  Speaker 5: Burrow football team coming in here. The Steelers did not
• 12:17
  Speaker 5: see Joe Burrow in both meetings last year. He was
• 12:19
  Speaker 5: hurt out for the season. They had to deal with
• 12:21
  Speaker 5: Joe Flacco, who, of course, diced him up on that
• 12:24
  Speaker 5: Thursday night in Cincinnati back in October of 2025. Steelers
• 12:27
  Speaker 5: got their revenge in November at Accushore Stadium. But you've
• 12:30
  Speaker 5: still got to deal with Chase Brown, and ultimately you've
• 12:33
  Speaker 5: got to deal– with Jamar Chase, who's had some big
• 12:36
  Speaker 5: games against the Steelers over the years. At this point
• 12:38
  Speaker 5: here on Friday as we talk, and of course there
• 12:40
  Speaker 5: could be breaking news at any moment, we're not sure
• 12:43
  Speaker 5: about Joey Porter Jr. and his status for this game,
• 12:45
  Speaker 5: so most likely you're going to see Asante Samuel Jr.
• 12:48
  Speaker 3: And Jamel Dean trying to contend.
• 12:51
  Speaker 5: At least, I don't want to say shut down Jamar
• 12:53
  Speaker 5: Chase or Tee Higgins, maybe Tee Higgins, but Jamar Chase
• 12:56
  Speaker 5: is one of those situations where you hope to contain him.
• 12:58
  Speaker 5: You might not be able to stop him completely, but
• 13:00
  Speaker 5: just don't let him decide the football game for you.
• 13:04
  Speaker 5: For sure.
• 13:05
  Speaker 4: You know, we got we got some injury updates Thursday. Now,
• 13:08
  Speaker 4: like the cadence of the week, the way the order
• 13:11
  Speaker 4: of operations goes, we sort of we hear from Mike
• 13:14
  Speaker 4: McCarthy Wednesday and Thursday pre practice. So all he's really
• 13:17
  Speaker 4: going to speak on to that extent is what was
• 13:21
  Speaker 4: reported previous day on the injury report. And then Fridays, generally,
• 13:26
  Speaker 4: we chat with the assistant coaches. And if you've ever
• 13:28
  Speaker 4: listened to any assistant coach in the NFL, talk to
• 13:30
  Speaker 4: the media for any team. They don't answer questions on
• 13:33
  Speaker 4: behalf of the head coach. Anything injury or player status
• 13:37
  Speaker 4: or roster related, that's, hey, above my pay grade. That's
• 13:41
  Speaker 4: a question for coach. Never mind that coach, head coach,
• 13:44
  Speaker 4: is not talking again before the game. That's all right.
• 13:47
  Speaker 4: That's not their problem. But, yeah, so we'll see what
• 13:51
  Speaker 4: we can find out, obviously, Friday. But, yeah, I mean,
• 13:54
  Speaker 4: the big one, I think, was Jamel Dean trending up yesterday,
• 13:58
  Speaker 4: going from a DNP on Wednesday to, limited on Thursday.
• 14:03
  Speaker 4: You're happy to see that upgrade for him. It was
• 14:06
  Speaker 4: status quo for Michael Pittman Jr. with his foot, but
• 14:09
  Speaker 4: I think even two back-to-back limited days, that's encouraging to
• 14:12
  Speaker 4: me that there was no setback there for Pitt. Jalen
• 14:16
  Speaker 4: Warren back-to-back limited days with a shoulder. I think you'd
• 14:19
  Speaker 4: probably have to cut Jalen Warren's shoulder off for him
• 14:22
  Speaker 4: to miss this game, Ed. And then, yeah, Joey Porter Jr.,
• 14:25
  Speaker 4: you know, he talked to the media the After practice
• 14:28
  Speaker 4: on Thursday for the first time since the regular season began,
• 14:31
  Speaker 4: I would say it was the most optimistic vent we've
• 14:37
  Speaker 4: heard from Joey in terms of getting back on the field.
• 14:39
  Speaker 4: But I don't know if that's going to take place
• 14:42
  Speaker 4: on Sunday against the Bengals. Back-to-back days with limited work
• 14:46
  Speaker 4: as he ramps up his conditioning. And he said he
• 14:50
  Speaker 4: would look forward to facing Chase and Higgins because he
• 14:53
  Speaker 4: feels like he's never really struggled against those guys. Joey,
• 14:56
  Speaker 4: I love where your head's at. I love the confidence there.
• 15:01
  Speaker 4: One might even say irrational confidence, but sometimes you need
• 15:04
  Speaker 4: that in this game, especially at corner. But we know
• 15:07
  Speaker 4: that is a tall task and a tough challenge on
• 15:10
  Speaker 4: the outside with those receivers. Oh, the other one I
• 15:13
  Speaker 4: wanted to mention, too, actually, Rico Dowdle, another DNP. So
• 15:17
  Speaker 4: he might miss this game with that toe injury, but
• 15:19
  Speaker 4: we'll see if he's out there Friday. And then Jennings
• 15:21
  Speaker 4: Dunker added to the injury report Thursday with a knee.
• 15:25
  Speaker 4: You never want to see that. That generally means that
• 15:28
  Speaker 4: a player went down in practice. So hopefully it was
• 15:32
  Speaker 4: a minor thing for Jennings Dunker, but we shall see.
• 15:35
  Speaker 5: Dunker, who's been a healthy scratch through the first two weeks,
• 15:37
  Speaker 5: but when you have an offensive line that you have
• 15:39
  Speaker 5: a lot of moving parts right now trying to revamp
• 15:42
  Speaker 5: that offensive line, you might potentially need him at some point.
• 15:46
  Speaker 3: Even this upcoming Sunday as a possibility, so we'll keep
• 15:48
  Speaker 3: an eye on that.
• 15:49
  Speaker 5: When Brian and I come back, we're going to get
• 15:50
  Speaker 5: into our five keys on offense, and then at 240,
• 15:53
  Speaker 5: our five keys on defense. Three o'clock hour, we'll go
• 15:56
  Speaker 5: through some NFL stats going into week three. Who's your
• 15:59
  Speaker 5: leaders offensively and defensively after two weeks of the season,
• 16:03
  Speaker 5: as well as taking a look around the week three
• 16:06
  Speaker 5: schedule in the AFC North, AFC, and the NFL.
• 16:09
  Speaker 3: And again, stay tuned.
• 16:10
  Speaker 5: 340 today, a special tribute to our good friend, Craig Wolfley,
• 16:15
  Speaker 5: who is being inducted, as we said, this upcoming weekend
• 16:17
  Speaker 5: into the Hall of Honor for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• 16:20
  Speaker 3: He's back. Oh, I'm Troop.
• 16:21
  Speaker 5: It's the Steelers Report here on Steelers Nation Radio, part
• 16:23
  Speaker 5: of the Steelers Audio Network.
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: Play-action pass, rolling out to his right, wants Stevenson back
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: in the left lap, throws it there, it's complete, shakes
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: out of one tackle, shakes out of another, and is
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: finally tracked down by.
• 16:40
  Speaker 3: Herbig, but the ball appears to be loose. The Steelers
• 16:42
  Speaker 3: think they have it.
• 16:43
  Speaker 1: Stevenson is a guy with fumbling issues, and the Steelers
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: have recovered. Herbig knocked it loose, and Peyton Wilson has recovered. Oh,
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: great googly-moogly.
• 16:57
  Speaker 3: Was that a beautiful moment.
• 17:00
  Speaker 4: This is the.
• 17:02
  Speaker 2: Steelers Report with Brian Batko and Ed Troup on Steelers
• 17:06
  Speaker 2: Nation Radio, a part of the Steelers Audio Network.
• 17:11
  Speaker 5: Again, this evening, Friday, September 25th, if you're listening live
• 17:17
  Speaker 5: here this afternoon, we appreciate you, but you might be
• 17:19
  Speaker 5: listening back on the podcast version as well on Steelers.com
• 17:22
  Speaker 5: or wherever you get your podcasts.
• 17:24
  Speaker 3: We're available there anytime. You can go back and listen
• 17:26
  Speaker 3: to any shows as well.
• 17:28
  Speaker 5: But today, from 4.30 to 9, so just coming up
• 17:31
  Speaker 5: in about, well, let's say two hours or so from now,
• 17:33
  Speaker 5: at Accushore Stadium, the Steelers' 2026 class will be inducted
• 17:38
  Speaker 5: into the Hall of Honor.
• 17:40
  Speaker 3: Kevin Colbert, J.T.
• 17:41
  Speaker 5: Thomas, and as you've heard right there, Craig Wolfley. We're
• 17:44
  Speaker 5: going to be playing some clips of Wolf here throughout
• 17:46
  Speaker 5: the show today. And again, coming up at 3.40, we
• 17:49
  Speaker 5: will devote our last segment before we get set for
• 17:52
  Speaker 5: the drive here today with Wes Shuler and Matt Williamson
• 17:55
  Speaker 5: coming up.
• 17:56
  Speaker 3: At 4 o'clock today.
• 17:57
  Speaker 5: Before we get set for those guys, we will have
• 18:00
  Speaker 5: a special tribute to Wolf coming up at the end
• 18:02
  Speaker 5: of the show today. But at 5.30 today here on SNR,
• 18:06
  Speaker 5: from 5.30 to 7, a special live broadcast from the
• 18:10
  Speaker 5: Hall of Honor. It'll be Mike Persuta and Wes Euler
• 18:13
  Speaker 5: bringing coverage to everyone out there in Steeler Nation.
• 18:17
  Speaker 3: Brian, it'll be a fun weekend.
• 18:18
  Speaker 5: I believe on Sunday at halftime of the Steelers-Bengals game,
• 18:21
  Speaker 5: they will also bring out Kevin Colbert, JT Thomas, and
• 18:24
  Speaker 5: the family members. Craig Wolfley to officially induct them into the.
• 18:29
  Speaker 3: Hall of Honor.
• 18:30
  Speaker 4: Yeah, no doubt. And hopefully the current guys, the fellas,
• 18:33
  Speaker 4: can get a win on this weekend. That always adds
• 18:39
  Speaker 4: to the occasion as well. But either way, the legacies
• 18:43
  Speaker 4: of those three men can't be changed. Stamped, cemented, now
• 18:48
  Speaker 4: etched in Steelers lore forever. Congratulations again to Kevin Colbert.
• 18:54
  Speaker 4: JT Thomas and Craig Wolfley.
• 18:57
  Speaker 5: Also, just want to let everyone know, make sure you
• 18:59
  Speaker 5: follow Brian Bacco on Twitter at Brian Bacco. Also myself,
• 19:03
  Speaker 5: Troop Eddie, and drop us a comment or two if
• 19:06
  Speaker 5: you want, and we'll read it here on the show.
• 19:08
  Speaker 5: If you have any questions in regard to the black
• 19:10
  Speaker 5: and gold, Brian and I will get to those here
• 19:12
  Speaker 5: live on the air on the Steelers report. Again, we're
• 19:15
  Speaker 5: on five days a week now here throughout the season.
• 19:18
  Speaker 5: So make sure you Keep it logged on to wherever
• 19:20
  Speaker 5: you're getting your podcasts or here live on 970 Fox
• 19:24
  Speaker 5: Sports Pittsburgh as well. Okay, Brian, let's get into our
• 19:27
  Speaker 5: five keys on offense and our five keys on defense.
• 19:31
  Speaker 5: We'll do the offense first this segment. First and foremost,
• 19:34
  Speaker 5: get this offense out of neutral. The Steelers have scored
• 19:37
  Speaker 5: just one touchdown, one, as we know, in 25 possessions
• 19:41
  Speaker 5: this season. They've gone 20 straight drives without a touchdown.
• 19:45
  Speaker 5: The Steelers are averaging just 3.8 yards per play.
• 19:48
  Speaker 3: That's the worst in the NFL.
• 19:50
  Speaker 5: And the Steelers have scored 65 combined points though against
• 19:55
  Speaker 5: the Bengals in two games from last season so maybe
• 19:58
  Speaker 5: this is what we need at this point we need
• 20:00
  Speaker 5: to see a Bengal team I'd feel better about that
• 20:02
  Speaker 5: statement if it was 2025 but as we know through
• 20:05
  Speaker 5: two games in 2026 the Bengals defense has been pretty good.
• 20:09
  Speaker 4: Yeah, and you look at who they've done it against, Ed,
• 20:11
  Speaker 4: in week one. It was against the Bucs, who put
• 20:15
  Speaker 4: up 27. Now the offense, really, for Tampa put up
• 20:18
  Speaker 4: 20 because they had to pick six against Joey B. And,
• 20:23
  Speaker 4: you know, jury's out, I think, on the current Tampa offense.
• 20:26
  Speaker 4: They're 0-2, and they lost to the Browns last week with,
• 20:31
  Speaker 4: you know, not exactly lighting up the scoreboard. 19 points
• 20:34
  Speaker 4: for Baker Mayfield and company. And I believe that was
• 20:37
  Speaker 4: only one touchdown, the rest field goals. And then in
• 20:40
  Speaker 4: week two, the Bengals limit C.J. Stroud and the Texans
• 20:45
  Speaker 4: to six points in a 20-6 victory. And I'll use
• 20:49
  Speaker 4: the same phrase probably. The jury is out on the Texans' offense.
• 20:52
  Speaker 4: They looked really good against the Bills in week one,
• 20:54
  Speaker 4: but obviously searching for some consistency. And they limped to
• 20:58
  Speaker 4: the finish line last year in the postseason after really
• 21:02
  Speaker 4: a defensive dominating performance to beat the Steelers. in the
• 21:07
  Speaker 4: wildcard round, CJ Stroud really struggled in that game too. So,
• 21:12
  Speaker 4: you know, you take into account who the Bengals have played.
• 21:16
  Speaker 4: You can't take anything away from them. The numbers are
• 21:20
  Speaker 4: the numbers. But I still think there are some areas
• 21:22
  Speaker 4: of this defense to exploit. Now, I think there are
• 21:25
  Speaker 4: obviously areas where they can exploit you. I mean, look
• 21:28
  Speaker 4: what Dexter Lawrence has done his first two games. I mean,
• 21:31
  Speaker 4: he's just commanding the paint defensively. to use a basketball phrase,
• 21:35
  Speaker 4: but the line of scrimmage, obviously he's been a load
• 21:39
  Speaker 4: up there, as has Jonathan Allen, his veteran running mate,
• 21:42
  Speaker 4: you know, Boye Mafe, off-season acquisition from the Seahawks. And,
• 21:49
  Speaker 4: you know, the other two guys who are intriguing to me,
• 21:52
  Speaker 4: Cedric Johnson, kind of an obscure second or third year
• 21:56
  Speaker 4: edge rusher. He's got a couple sacks. And then Cassius Howell,
• 21:59
  Speaker 4: rookie out of Texas A & M, talked about him
• 22:02
  Speaker 4: I think on yesterday's show, really explosive, a great get
• 22:06
  Speaker 4: off some real pass rush moves. Does he have, but
• 22:10
  Speaker 4: I think he's the type of guy who he's kind
• 22:13
  Speaker 4: of like Nick Herbig was early in his career, not
• 22:15
  Speaker 4: a real big body wins more with speed and quickness
• 22:20
  Speaker 4: on the edge. So I would say if he's in
• 22:23
  Speaker 4: the game, the Bengals probably are counting on it being
• 22:26
  Speaker 4: a passing scenario so that he doesn't have to worry
• 22:30
  Speaker 4: about defending the run. But I think when you see
• 22:33
  Speaker 4: Cassius Howe in the game and you're the Steelers, maybe
• 22:37
  Speaker 4: you'll see them running in some non-traditional situations is the
• 22:41
  Speaker 4: way I view it. Because if that's a weakness of
• 22:45
  Speaker 4: his game as a rookie coming in here, who's not
• 22:47
  Speaker 4: the biggest body out on the edge, then maybe you
• 22:51
  Speaker 4: can take advantage of that to some extent. And I'm
• 22:55
  Speaker 4: sure that that's the chess match of it. The Bengals
• 22:58
  Speaker 4: want him out there to rush the passer. But when
• 23:01
  Speaker 4: you see Number 55 in white and orange. Maybe you
• 23:05
  Speaker 4: try to get a tackle or a tight end up
• 23:07
  Speaker 4: on him and create some holes for Jalen Warren and
• 23:10
  Speaker 4: or Rico Dowd and or maybe Travis Homer or Eli
• 23:13
  Speaker 4: Heidenreich to run through.
• 23:14
  Speaker 5: Speaking of Jalen Warren, he's our number two key on
• 23:17
  Speaker 5: offense for this upcoming Sunday against the Bengals.
• 23:19
  Speaker 3: Get Warren involved.
• 23:21
  Speaker 5: He had 189 rushing yards on 26 carries against the
• 23:24
  Speaker 5: Bengals last season in those two games. Last week against
• 23:27
  Speaker 5: the Patriots, Brian, he played a career-high 50 snaps against
• 23:31
  Speaker 5: So he was in the game a lot more than
• 23:32
  Speaker 5: any other running back, Rico Dowdle. They did have Travis
• 23:36
  Speaker 5: Homer also active last week for that Patriots game as well.
• 23:39
  Speaker 5: But the Bengals, they're only allowing 78 yards rushing per
• 23:43
  Speaker 5: game to running back. So this will not be easy
• 23:45
  Speaker 5: for the Steelers, at least going in. And Cincinnati is also,
• 23:48
  Speaker 5: and we talked about this this week on the show,
• 23:50
  Speaker 5: allowing 32.3% of opponent rushes to result in no gain
• 23:55
  Speaker 5: or a tackle for loss. You talked about the pressure
• 23:58
  Speaker 5: to get to Aaron Rodgers, the edge rushers, and that
• 24:01
  Speaker 5: defensive line of Cincinnati and how great they've played. One
• 24:04
  Speaker 5: way you could kind of settle that down is to
• 24:06
  Speaker 5: establish a running game, something they've struggled through two games,
• 24:09
  Speaker 5: but maybe just maybe this Sunday they can get that
• 24:11
  Speaker 5: running game going.
• 24:14
  Speaker 4: Yeah. So I guess I skipped ahead a little bit
• 24:16
  Speaker 4: and I think Warren is a different challenge for the
• 24:19
  Speaker 4: Bengals defense than the backs they've faced to this point. Rashad,
• 24:24
  Speaker 4: excuse me, Bucky Irving, Kenny Gainwell in Tampa, and then
• 24:27
  Speaker 4: David Montgomery and Woody Marks last week in Houston. I mean,
• 24:31
  Speaker 4: Jalen Warren, he's still so shifty in the open field.
• 24:35
  Speaker 4: I mean, you just never see that first guy, him down,
• 24:38
  Speaker 4: or very rarely. I don't want to jinx him. He's
• 24:41
  Speaker 4: got 150 yards from scrimmage on 28 touches, Ed, so
• 24:45
  Speaker 4: that's 5.4 yards per touch, but 2.6 yards after contact
• 24:50
  Speaker 4: on average for Warren because... As we've talked about all week,
• 24:53
  Speaker 4: and I'm sure the other shows too, he's getting hit
• 24:55
  Speaker 4: behind the line a lot. And he's getting thrown to
• 24:59
  Speaker 4: behind the line a lot, which is kind of inherent
• 25:03
  Speaker 4: with being a running back. But that 2.6 yards after
• 25:06
  Speaker 4: contact per rush, that's number seven in the NFL. And
• 25:10
  Speaker 4: he's breaking tackles at a higher rate than all but
• 25:12
  Speaker 4: four tailbacks. So it's broken tackles per rush attempt, according
• 25:18
  Speaker 4: to Pro Football Reference. he's top 10 in those categories
• 25:21
  Speaker 4: as a receiver too. So yeah, whether it's on the
• 25:23
  Speaker 4: ground or through the air, I feel like you got
• 25:25
  Speaker 4: to get the ball to 30 and let him spark
• 25:29
  Speaker 4: this offense here and there because going back to, and
• 25:32
  Speaker 4: I'll tie our first two keys together, Ed, I didn't
• 25:34
  Speaker 4: mention this previously about getting the offense out of neutral,
• 25:37
  Speaker 4: but I think you can have a really nice game
• 25:40
  Speaker 4: thrown to your tight ends in this one. Pat Fryer-Muth
• 25:43
  Speaker 4: has been a Bengals killer over the years, but Darnell
• 25:45
  Speaker 4: Washington too. You know what he gives you and provides
• 25:49
  Speaker 4: when he gets the ball in his hands. I think
• 25:51
  Speaker 4: the weakest part of this Bengals defense is the inside
• 25:54
  Speaker 4: linebacker duo of Knight and Carter. I think those guys,
• 26:00
  Speaker 4: it's been great for them that the D-line has been
• 26:02
  Speaker 4: so dominant because it's allowing them to not have to
• 26:07
  Speaker 4: do too much. I think they don't have too much
• 26:09
  Speaker 4: on their plate. And I think if you're the Steelers,
• 26:12
  Speaker 4: maybe you get some of those quick passes out there,
• 26:14
  Speaker 4: neutralize the pass rush from the Bengals. and put those
• 26:18
  Speaker 4: linebackers in position where they have to make one-on-one tackles.
• 26:20
  Speaker 4: And I like the Steelers' chances on that front.
• 26:23
  Speaker 5: Brian Bacco, you need to go play the lottery, my friend,
• 26:25
  Speaker 5: because you're now two for two. You're skipping ahead of me.
• 26:28
  Speaker 5: And just so everyone out there knows, Brian and I
• 26:30
  Speaker 5: are at two different locations because he is going to
• 26:32
  Speaker 5: be down on the south side here shortly. during Steelers
• 26:35
  Speaker 5: practice here today for day number three. So I have
• 26:38
  Speaker 5: the keys in front of me. I do not prep
• 26:39
  Speaker 5: Brian back because we like real radio here, right? We
• 26:42
  Speaker 5: want real-time reactions. And you predicted Jalen Warren for number two,
• 26:46
  Speaker 5: and now you've predicted number three because number three on
• 26:48
  Speaker 5: my list is attack the Bengals with your tight ends.
• 26:52
  Speaker 5: The Bengals allowed 12 catches for 140 yards to Dalton
• 26:55
  Speaker 5: Schultz with the Houston Texans last week. The Bengals are
• 26:59
  Speaker 5: also allowing the most receptions and receiving yards per game
• 27:01
  Speaker 5: to tight ends. Of course, we know Pat Fryermuth has
• 27:04
  Speaker 5: the Steelers' only offensive touchdown so far this season.
• 27:07
  Speaker 3: But here's the other kicker.
• 27:08
  Speaker 5: The Bengals' defense also has allowed the most receptions to
• 27:12
  Speaker 5: running backs. So to your point, not only attack them
• 27:15
  Speaker 5: with your tight ends, Darnell Washington and Pat Fryermuth, but
• 27:17
  Speaker 5: maybe get Warren and even Rico Dowdle involved with throwing
• 27:20
  Speaker 5: them the football out of the backfield.
• 27:23
  Speaker 4: Yeah, that'll be a double-edged sword, I suppose, with, you know,
• 27:26
  Speaker 4: we know the Steelers still want to get the ball
• 27:28
  Speaker 4: to DK Metcalf. And I think continuing to target him and,
• 27:33
  Speaker 4: and utilize him maybe the best way to get him
• 27:35
  Speaker 4: out of this funk that he's in through the first
• 27:37
  Speaker 4: two weeks. And Mike McCarthy said that before practice on Thursday,
• 27:40
  Speaker 4: we're going to throw DK the ball. I promise you that.
• 27:43
  Speaker 4: But I think, and certainly he can win his share
• 27:47
  Speaker 4: of matchups, I believe on the outside against DJ Turner
• 27:50
  Speaker 4: and Dax Hills, their other corner, he's a former first rounder.
• 27:54
  Speaker 4: So they've, They've built up the secondary to some extent.
• 27:57
  Speaker 4: Their safeties, Brian Cook and Jordan Battle, I think they're okay.
• 28:01
  Speaker 4: But I wouldn't say they're, you know, Troy Palamalu and
• 28:04
  Speaker 4: Ed Reed back there patrolling. So maybe you can get
• 28:07
  Speaker 4: DK deep. But by and large, I think you might
• 28:10
  Speaker 4: have better success if you, yeah, utilize Fryermuth and Darnell Washington.
• 28:15
  Speaker 4: You know, try to play into stressing those Bengals linebackers,
• 28:21
  Speaker 4: whether it's in coverage or, yeah, making plays in space. And,
• 28:26
  Speaker 4: you know, I'm just going to pull it up real
• 28:27
  Speaker 4: quick in his career, Pat Friermuth against the Bengals at
• 28:31
  Speaker 4: 10 games, 49 catches, 619 yards, six touchdowns. He's not
• 28:38
  Speaker 4: even close to those numbers against any other opponent in
• 28:41
  Speaker 4: his NFL career. Now, obviously it's a partially an AFC
• 28:44
  Speaker 4: North thing. You've played them the most, but you know,
• 28:47
  Speaker 4: he's like, his production is not even half that in
• 28:50
  Speaker 4: his 10 career games against Cleveland and And in nine
• 28:53
  Speaker 4: career games against the Ravens, he's got 27, or excuse me,
• 28:58
  Speaker 4: 22 fewer catches and almost 400 fewer yards and five
• 29:03
  Speaker 4: fewer touchdowns. He cooks the Bengals consistently. Now they've got
• 29:08
  Speaker 4: Brian Cook at safety. Maybe that can help take away
• 29:11
  Speaker 4: Friar Muth, but I think Pat could be in for
• 29:14
  Speaker 4: a big Sunday.
• 29:14
  Speaker 3: This is amazing, Double B. I know you're a hooper.
• 29:17
  Speaker 3: You're on fire from outside.
• 29:18
  Speaker 5: You're 3-for-3 from three-point land so far because you just
• 29:21
  Speaker 5: predicted the next one. Number four on my list is
• 29:24
  Speaker 5: take some shots with Aaron Rodgers.
• 29:26
  Speaker 3: Get him comfortable.
• 29:27
  Speaker 5: Rodgers is 0-for-9 on throws of 20 or more yards
• 29:30
  Speaker 5: so far this season. He's completing 60% of his passes
• 29:34
  Speaker 5: and averaging only 5.2 yards per attempt. The Steelers take
• 29:38
  Speaker 5: some shots downfield, get Thursday's going, because again, you want
• 29:41
  Speaker 5: to control that Cincinnati pass rush, those edge rushers coming
• 29:44
  Speaker 5: off the edge. One way to do that, the running game,
• 29:46
  Speaker 5: as I mentioned earlier. Another one, a guy like DK.
• 29:50
  Speaker 3: Pass some footballs downfield, take some shots, use the middle
• 29:52
  Speaker 3: of the football field.
• 29:54
  Speaker 4: Well, hey, I'd say this about the Keys so far, Ed,
• 29:57
  Speaker 4: and I'm glad that I'm even one step ahead of you.
• 30:00
  Speaker 4: But I think if the Steelers can get the run
• 30:03
  Speaker 4: game going, get the ball to Jalen Warren, get the
• 30:05
  Speaker 4: ball to Pat Friar, you can darn out Washington and
• 30:07
  Speaker 4: connect on some deep shots to DK Metcalf. I think
• 30:09
  Speaker 4: they're going to score a lot of points and potentially
• 30:11
  Speaker 4: win this game.
• 30:13
  Speaker 3: Well, you know, listen, we are in the broadcast booth here.
• 30:17
  Speaker 5: We are not in those coaching rooms, but I'm sure
• 30:20
  Speaker 5: they're preaching these same keys this week as well. OK,
• 30:23
  Speaker 5: one quick one before we go to break. Now, do
• 30:24
  Speaker 5: you want to take a guess for this one? Because
• 30:26
  Speaker 5: you've gotten the last three. And the only reason why
• 30:28
  Speaker 5: you didn't get the first one is I didn't give
• 30:30
  Speaker 5: you the opportunity to guess the first one. So any
• 30:33
  Speaker 5: guess on this one for for number five before I
• 30:36
  Speaker 5: throw it out there?
• 30:39
  Speaker 4: Based on the theme so far, it's get the ball
• 30:41
  Speaker 4: to Jeremy Bernard. But no, I mean, I'm going to
• 30:43
  Speaker 4: say one that is a little more about the collective
• 30:46
  Speaker 4: than one player is protection. I think you got to
• 30:49
  Speaker 4: protect Aaron Rodgers in this game or else you're going
• 30:52
  Speaker 4: to be running into some of those same problems that
• 30:55
  Speaker 4: dogged you the first two weeks and really have dogged
• 30:58
  Speaker 4: you in your past three games going back to last
• 31:01
  Speaker 4: season against Houston. Now some faces have changed on the
• 31:04
  Speaker 4: offensive line. And for all we know, some faces will
• 31:06
  Speaker 4: be changing again. On Sunday, no one's really saying for sure,
• 31:10
  Speaker 4: but I do think they need to protect well for sure.
• 31:13
  Speaker 5: Kobe Bryant passes it out to Bako. He puts up
• 31:16
  Speaker 5: the three. It's short off the rim. It's no good.
• 31:19
  Speaker 3: Bako, you missed on this one, though I like that.
• 31:21
  Speaker 3: We can add that in. You're right.
• 31:22
  Speaker 5: They got to protect. Number five for me was win
• 31:25
  Speaker 5: third downs. So the Steelers, five of 25 on third down, 20%
• 31:30
  Speaker 5: coming in, 31st in the NFL. You got to do
• 31:32
  Speaker 5: better on third downs.
• 31:34
  Speaker 4: And you know what you have to do on third downs?
• 31:35
  Speaker 4: You have to give your quarterback a clean pocket. So
• 31:38
  Speaker 4: I think I'm right after all. I'm put back slam.
• 31:41
  Speaker 3: He got his own rebound, kicked it out, and put
• 31:43
  Speaker 3: it through.
• 31:44
  Speaker 5: Whenever we come back, we will go over our five
• 31:46
  Speaker 5: keys on defense.
• 31:49
  Speaker 3: I'm ET. He's BB.
• 31:50
  Speaker 5: It's the Steelers Report here on Steelers Nation Radio, part
• 31:53
  Speaker 5: of the Steelers Audio Network.
• 32:04
  Speaker 3: And he gets a snap. Back to pass. Has time.
• 32:06
  Speaker 4: Dancing into pocket.
• 32:07
  Speaker 3: Now moves out to the right. And he's taken down.
• 32:09
  Speaker 3: Sacked by T.J.
• 32:11
  Speaker 2: Watt.
• 32:12
  Speaker 1: Back inside the 10-yard line.
• 32:15
  Speaker 3: That was a slobber knocker. He had everybody on the
• 32:17
  Speaker 3: sideline scream his one.
• 32:19
  Speaker 4: Whoa!
• 32:21
  Speaker 2: This is the Steelers Report with Brian Batko and Ed
• 32:25
  Speaker 2: Troop on Steelers Nation Radio, a part of the Steelers
• 32:29
  Speaker 2: Audio Network.
• 32:32
  Speaker 5: Double B, the other day we were talking about movies,
• 32:35
  Speaker 5: and we did connect them back to the black and gold,
• 32:38
  Speaker 5: I think, a few times. Last night, my son Brendan
• 32:41
  Speaker 5: and I went for the three-plus hour of Avengers Endgame,
• 32:46
  Speaker 5: which is leading up to the new Avengers movie, Doomsday,
• 32:49
  Speaker 5: this upcoming December. Not a sponsor from what I know,
• 32:52
  Speaker 5: but I'll give him a shout either way. Of course,
• 32:55
  Speaker 5: we've seen Endgame a bunch of times. I've never seen
• 32:58
  Speaker 5: it in a theater, though, so that was my first
• 32:59
  Speaker 5: time seeing it in a theater.
• 33:00
  Speaker 3: But here's my question for you.
• 33:03
  Speaker 5: That was the first three-plus-hour movie I've ever taken in
• 33:08
  Speaker 5: in a movie theater. I've never sat through a movie
• 33:10
  Speaker 5: that long in a movie theater.
• 33:12
  Speaker 3: At home, of course, yes. And with, of course, pausing,
• 33:15
  Speaker 3: going to the bathroom, getting something to eat, whatever. Last night,
• 33:18
  Speaker 3: made it through all three-plus hours.
• 33:19
  Speaker 5: Did not get up once and leave to go to
• 33:22
  Speaker 5: the bathroom or get a refill on a drink. Sat
• 33:24
  Speaker 5: through the whole time, enjoyed it, and it went rather quick.
• 33:26
  Speaker 5: So kudos to the Marvel Studios staff. We knew you
• 33:31
  Speaker 5: put out a good one, but you continue to, putting
• 33:33
  Speaker 5: it back on the big screen, and I'm looking forward
• 33:34
  Speaker 5: to seeing Doomsday come this December.
• 33:37
  Speaker 4: I'm currently trying to figure out. I thought you were
• 33:38
  Speaker 4: going to ask me what's the longest movie I've sat
• 33:41
  Speaker 4: through in a theater. I mean, Inception comes to mind,
• 33:44
  Speaker 4: but I just looked that up. That's 228. The Dark
• 33:46
  Speaker 4: Knight with the Joker, 232. Dark Knight Rises here in
• 33:51
  Speaker 4: Pittsburgh with the Gotham Rogues Steelers scene at Heinz Field
• 33:55
  Speaker 4: slash Accresure Stadium. Heinz Ward running back a kick. That
• 34:00
  Speaker 4: was 244. So that is close. That probably takes the
• 34:04
  Speaker 4: cake for longest movie I've seen in theaters. I can't
• 34:07
  Speaker 4: nothing's really come into mind of longer than that. But yeah,
• 34:10
  Speaker 4: congratulations to you, Ed, on your bladder control. I'm proud
• 34:14
  Speaker 4: of you. It sounds like you did everything you needed
• 34:16
  Speaker 4: to do. You made all the necessary preparation and adjustments
• 34:19
  Speaker 4: going into that film.
• 34:21
  Speaker 5: Well, when you get into your mid to upper 40s
• 34:23
  Speaker 5: and our listeners out there who are there or older,
• 34:25
  Speaker 5: I'm sure you can relate to what I just said.
• 34:28
  Speaker 3: If you're younger, you're probably thinking, oh, man, what are
• 34:29
  Speaker 3: you talking about?
• 34:30
  Speaker 5: But yeah, these days you might be running to the
• 34:32
  Speaker 5: bathroom a bit more than you have before. OK, let's
• 34:35
  Speaker 5: get back into our keys of the game.
• 34:37
  Speaker 3: Five on defense. Brian back on.
• 34:39
  Speaker 5: Now, you guessed and not that we ever play this game, but,
• 34:42
  Speaker 5: you know, hey, shout out to you.
• 34:43
  Speaker 3: You guessed what? Three, maybe even four out of the
• 34:46
  Speaker 3: five on offense to start out.
• 34:48
  Speaker 4: But.
• 34:48
  Speaker 3: Let's go through our defensive five keys of the game.
• 34:51
  Speaker 5: Number one, make Joe Burrow hold the football.
• 34:53
  Speaker 3: That's right.
• 34:54
  Speaker 5: He's getting blitzed on 36% of his dropbacks, the highest
• 34:57
  Speaker 5: of his career so far.
• 34:59
  Speaker 3: And he's getting the ball out very quick.
• 35:01
  Speaker 5: 63% of his passes come out within 2.5 seconds or less.
• 35:06
  Speaker 5: The Steelers have a 7% sack rate so far this season.
• 35:09
  Speaker 5: That's second best in the NFL. We know Watt has 3.5%.
• 35:12
  Speaker 5: Highsmith has three and the Steelers have a league leading
• 35:15
  Speaker 5: 15 tackles for loss. Do not let Burrow live on
• 35:19
  Speaker 5: those quick game throws, right? Disrupt his timing, force him
• 35:22
  Speaker 5: out of the pocket, force him to hold the football
• 35:24
  Speaker 5: a bit longer. And hopefully you can get some of
• 35:26
  Speaker 5: your edge rushers home.
• 35:28
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I do think there's, there's something to that, Ed,
• 35:31
  Speaker 4: but I also think there's risk reward in that because
• 35:33
  Speaker 4: the longer he holds the football, if you don't get home,
• 35:36
  Speaker 4: you're giving Jamar chase and T Higgins a chance to
• 35:38
  Speaker 4: get down the field and, Regardless of who's covering him
• 35:42
  Speaker 4: for the Steelers, hopefully they make the play. But we
• 35:45
  Speaker 4: know T. Higgins on 50-50 balls. They're not really 50-50
• 35:48
  Speaker 4: for him. He's fantastic at contested catches. I mean, he's
• 35:52
  Speaker 4: just simply one of the biggest bodies at receiver in
• 35:54
  Speaker 4: the NFL. That's kind of his bread and butter. Chase,
• 35:58
  Speaker 4: I mean, a little different challenge, but you've got to
• 36:00
  Speaker 4: keep him. You've got to stay in phase with him
• 36:02
  Speaker 4: as he's running down the field, and that is not
• 36:04
  Speaker 4: easy to do. So I hear you on that one.
• 36:07
  Speaker 4: You know, I talked to Alex Highsmith. Thursday in the
• 36:09
  Speaker 4: locker room after practice for my four-down territory weekly Saturday
• 36:14
  Speaker 4: morning column. That'll be up on Steelers.com Saturday morning about
• 36:19
  Speaker 4: the unique challenge of facing Burrow. And you're right. I mean,
• 36:22
  Speaker 4: you pointed out early in the show that it's been
• 36:24
  Speaker 4: kind of strange. They've dodged him so often, or he's
• 36:27
  Speaker 4: dodged the Steelers, I guess we should say, too, because,
• 36:30
  Speaker 4: you know, they faced Flacco twice last year. They faced
• 36:34
  Speaker 4: Burrow two times the season before that, but then 2023,
• 36:36
  Speaker 4: I They didn't play him at all. He missed both
• 36:41
  Speaker 4: of those games. And it's not like it was season-long
• 36:45
  Speaker 4: injuries because in that same span, Ed, he faced the
• 36:51
  Speaker 4: Ravens and the Browns plenty of times. He faced them
• 36:55
  Speaker 4: five times against Cleveland and six against Baltimore in that
• 36:59
  Speaker 4: same span that he's only faced the Steelers twice. So
• 37:02
  Speaker 4: in a weird way, at least in recent history, Burrow
• 37:07
  Speaker 4: knows the Steelers well. less than he does the other
• 37:10
  Speaker 4: two teams in this division. But we know there have
• 37:12
  Speaker 4: been other moments going back before these last three seasons, 2021. No,
• 37:17
  Speaker 4: not 2021. The 2022 opener in Cincinnati, an all-time wild game.
• 37:24
  Speaker 4: Minka Fitzpatrick blocked extra point. But long before that, it
• 37:29
  Speaker 4: was a day that the Steelers harassed him early and often. T.J. Watt,
• 37:33
  Speaker 4: with one of those interceptions we saw in week one,
• 37:36
  Speaker 4: against Cooper Rush and the Falcons. That might have been
• 37:38
  Speaker 4: the first time he did it against Burrow in that
• 37:41
  Speaker 4: game at Paycor Stadium. And absolutely, Alex Highsmith said, you know,
• 37:44
  Speaker 4: he's such a quick processor and decision maker. So you've
• 37:49
  Speaker 4: got to, obviously you want to get to him, but
• 37:52
  Speaker 4: you also want to create a little bit of confusion
• 37:54
  Speaker 4: with a disguise, a well-disguised coverage on the back end
• 37:56
  Speaker 4: that maybe that is what causes him to just hold
• 37:59
  Speaker 4: that ball for a tick longer. And that's what allows
• 38:02
  Speaker 4: the pass rush to get to him. And I think
• 38:05
  Speaker 4: maybe even like a lot's made of the edge rushers
• 38:07
  Speaker 4: in this game and rightfully so. But I think Cam
• 38:10
  Speaker 4: Hayward needs to be Dr. Doom in this game for
• 38:14
  Speaker 4: the Steelers. I mean, I think it could be end
• 38:16
  Speaker 4: game for Joe Burrow and that Bengals offensive. Cam's getting
• 38:19
  Speaker 4: quick pressures, nice driving the left guard back into Burrow's
• 38:23
  Speaker 4: lap and just generally collapsing the pocket. And I think
• 38:26
  Speaker 4: he can do that.
• 38:27
  Speaker 3: I love it, man. Tie it back together there from
• 38:29
  Speaker 3: the beginning. Very nicely done, Mr. Backo. Number two, contain
• 38:33
  Speaker 3: Chase and Higgins. You were just talking about this.
• 38:34
  Speaker 5: Jamar Chase, Tee Higgins, and Chase Brown, they've come up
• 38:38
  Speaker 5: with almost 78% of Cincinnati's targets so far this season. Chase,
• 38:43
  Speaker 5: last week, two touchdowns. in that Week 2 win against
• 38:46
  Speaker 5: the Texans. Cincinnati ranked 7th in explosive pass rate. So basically,
• 38:51
  Speaker 5: the Steelers' defense, Brian, they really got to limit these
• 38:54
  Speaker 5: big pass plays. Don't let Cincinnati take some shots with
• 38:57
  Speaker 5: some of their big playmakers. Try to contain them for
• 39:00
  Speaker 5: short yardage situations and not taking those big bombs downfield
• 39:04
  Speaker 5: where they're connecting with guys like Jamar Chase and Tee Higgins,
• 39:07
  Speaker 5: even Chase Brown.
• 39:08
  Speaker 3: You got to keep an eye on him coming out
• 39:09
  Speaker 3: of that backfield.
• 39:11
  Speaker 4: Significant challenge for everybody associated with the Steelers, Defense, but
• 39:15
  Speaker 4: particularly the secondary and talk about just the players. But,
• 39:20
  Speaker 4: you know, secondary coach Joe Witt Jr. and DB's coach
• 39:24
  Speaker 4: Jason Simmons are going to have to have their guys
• 39:25
  Speaker 4: ready to go. We actually talked to Witt last week
• 39:29
  Speaker 4: going into the Patriots game, and he talked a little
• 39:31
  Speaker 4: bit about the great job that the Steelers did on
• 39:34
  Speaker 4: Drake London and Kyle Pitts in week one against Atlanta. Now,
• 39:37
  Speaker 4: if you watch Thursday Night Football, Drake London is not
• 39:40
  Speaker 4: easy to cover, and yet the Steelers almost completely erased
• 39:43
  Speaker 4: him in that game. Witt said B. John Robinson obviously
• 39:47
  Speaker 4: got his, but their plan with Patrick Graham, the DC was,
• 39:51
  Speaker 4: it was kind of like facing the Michael Jordan bowls
• 39:53
  Speaker 4: in the nineties. Jordan's going to get his, in this case,
• 39:56
  Speaker 4: Bijan don't let everybody else get theirs. And that worked
• 39:59
  Speaker 4: against the Falcons. Now, I don't know if that's going
• 40:01
  Speaker 4: to be a similar plan where it's kind of like, Hey,
• 40:04
  Speaker 4: let Jamar chase, you know, he's going to get his,
• 40:06
  Speaker 4: you know that, but don't let Higgins destroy you. Don't
• 40:09
  Speaker 4: let chase Brown or Mike Kosicki destroy you. That's probably
• 40:12
  Speaker 4: easier said than done, but yeah, I mean, Hey, it
• 40:15
  Speaker 4: was only two weeks ago that the Steelers faced a
• 40:17
  Speaker 4: team with a, Pretty formidable triumvirate of offensive playmakers with
• 40:22
  Speaker 4: their running back. Now, that was a running back wide
• 40:25
  Speaker 4: out tight end, but Kyle Pitts and Tee Higgins, honestly,
• 40:28
  Speaker 4: pretty comparable players. So, yeah, easier said than done with
• 40:31
  Speaker 4: Joe Burrow under center rather than Cooper Rush.
• 40:34
  Speaker 5: Number three on our list, stop Chase Brown. In that
• 40:37
  Speaker 5: running game of Cincinnati last season, he had 207 rushing
• 40:41
  Speaker 5: yards against the Steelers, Brian. And I believe, correct me
• 40:45
  Speaker 5: if I'm wrong on this one, too, I think it
• 40:46
  Speaker 5: was the Thursday night game. Not only did Jamar Chase
• 40:49
  Speaker 5: go off, but Chase Brown had a big game in
• 40:51
  Speaker 5: that one as well. I think the Steelers did a
• 40:52
  Speaker 5: better job second time around against both those guys at
• 40:55
  Speaker 5: Accashore Stadium. But still, you know, we're talking Chase, Chase,
• 40:59
  Speaker 5: Chase and Higgins and rightfully so and Joe Burrow. And
• 41:02
  Speaker 5: you mentioned this on the show the other day. Don't
• 41:03
  Speaker 5: forget about Chase Brown because he's talented, too.
• 41:07
  Speaker 4: He is, and I feel like he's more of a
• 41:08
  Speaker 4: straight-line burner than he is super shifty like Bajon Robinson. Granted,
• 41:13
  Speaker 4: nobody's shifty like Bajon Robinson. Again, I keep thinking about
• 41:16
  Speaker 4: some of those runs last night against Green Bay, and
• 41:19
  Speaker 4: it almost makes you less down on the way the
• 41:21
  Speaker 4: Steelers played against him in Week 1. But yeah, I mean,
• 41:25
  Speaker 4: you can't sleep on Brown. He's no slouch. He did
• 41:28
  Speaker 4: have 108 yards on just 11 carries. Honestly, that's a
• 41:32
  Speaker 4: Friday Night Lights high school stat line a little bit
• 41:34
  Speaker 4: there in that first Steelers-Bengals game. a season to go
• 41:37
  Speaker 4: Thursday night. And then, you know, the second time around
• 41:40
  Speaker 4: Steelers dominated with a 34 to 12 win in Pittsburgh,
• 41:44
  Speaker 4: but Brown still went for 99 yards on 18 carries
• 41:47
  Speaker 4: and six catches for 28. So the Steelers need to
• 41:49
  Speaker 4: do a better job on him this year.
• 41:52
  Speaker 5: Number four on our list, keep the offense of the
• 41:55
  Speaker 5: Bengals on it, or excuse me, keep them off the
• 41:58
  Speaker 5: field on third down. The Steelers have allowed opponents to
• 42:01
  Speaker 5: convert to, Only six of 24 third downs at 25%.
• 42:05
  Speaker 3: That is third best in the NFL.
• 42:07
  Speaker 5: The key here, Brian, for the Steelers' defense against the Bengals,
• 42:10
  Speaker 5: win first and second down, create those third and long
• 42:13
  Speaker 5: opportunities where you can get Watt and Highsmith to get
• 42:16
  Speaker 5: the pass rush going for Joe Burrow. So we kind
• 42:19
  Speaker 5: of talked about this earlier here, too, with making Joe
• 42:22
  Speaker 5: Burrow hold the ball longer. Force those third and long situations,
• 42:26
  Speaker 5: then you can bring the blitz.
• 42:28
  Speaker 4: Can Amarius Mims hold up against TJ Watt? Can Orlando
• 42:31
  Speaker 4: Brown Jr. hold up against Alex Highsmith? Can either one
• 42:35
  Speaker 4: of them hold up against Nick Herbig if he gets
• 42:37
  Speaker 4: to just pin his ears back and rush the passer?
• 42:39
  Speaker 4: Or even if there's interior pressure coming from Watt, Highsmith,
• 42:43
  Speaker 4: or Herbig in some of those three outside linebacker packages?
• 42:46
  Speaker 4: I'm very eager to see how those three are deployed
• 42:49
  Speaker 4: by Patrick Graham this week. We're still only two games
• 42:52
  Speaker 4: into the Graham experiment. You like that? Not grand experiment,
• 42:56
  Speaker 4: the Graham experiment. Maybe we shouldn't make that catch on it.
• 42:59
  Speaker 3: I like it. You coined it right there, my friend.
• 43:02
  Speaker 4: Go ahead.
• 43:02
  Speaker 3: Chalk it up. Number five for our fifth key.
• 43:05
  Speaker 5: On defense for the Steelers is don't let Joe Burrow
• 43:08
  Speaker 5: beat you with that quick passing game. We've already talked
• 43:10
  Speaker 5: about this, Brian, with, you know, he gets the ball
• 43:12
  Speaker 5: out in about two and a half seconds, right? Cincinnati
• 43:15
  Speaker 5: has used play action on only 20% of their dropbacks.
• 43:18
  Speaker 5: That's the lowest in the league so far. So Burrow
• 43:21
  Speaker 5: likes to get that ball out quick. Again, these are
• 43:24
  Speaker 5: all the ingredients, one through four. We talked about all this.
• 43:26
  Speaker 5: We sum it up with number five. Don't let him
• 43:28
  Speaker 5: beat you with a long pass downfield, of course, with
• 43:31
  Speaker 5: guys like Chase, but he also likes to live in
• 43:33
  Speaker 5: that short passing game, that part of the field too.
• 43:36
  Speaker 3: So make sure you have that buttoned up.
• 43:39
  Speaker 4: Yeah, Burrow's had two passes batted so far through two games,
• 43:43
  Speaker 4: and we know that Cam Hayward has four himself. I
• 43:45
  Speaker 4: think that's a potential X factor too here is, yeah,
• 43:49
  Speaker 4: I mean, whether it's third down or not, Get those
• 43:51
  Speaker 4: quick interior pressures. I haven't mentioned Keanu Benton yet today
• 43:54
  Speaker 4: and probably should because I thought he won a lot
• 43:58
  Speaker 4: of pass rush reps last week in New England. Steelers
• 44:01
  Speaker 4: didn't get a ton to show for it, but that's
• 44:04
  Speaker 4: at least something to build on going forward. And whether
• 44:06
  Speaker 4: it's Benton or Hayward, Derek Harmon, Y.A. Black, you get
• 44:11
  Speaker 4: the burrow. If he gets the ball off, maybe you
• 44:12
  Speaker 4: throw your hands up there and you can get a
• 44:14
  Speaker 4: swat at the line of scrimmage even if you can't
• 44:16
  Speaker 4: get all the way to him.
• 44:18
  Speaker 5: Those are our five keys on defense. Brian, we have
• 44:21
  Speaker 5: about another minute here before we've got to go to break.
• 44:23
  Speaker 5: We're up against the top of the hour. Did I
• 44:26
  Speaker 5: miss any on offense or defense? I know you mentioned
• 44:28
  Speaker 5: a couple extra runs on offense, but how about defense?
• 44:32
  Speaker 4: Try to get the ball. I think always when you
• 44:34
  Speaker 4: can take the ball away from the Bengals, you neutralize
• 44:38
  Speaker 4: that explosive passing game with Burrow, Chase, and Higgins. That
• 44:43
  Speaker 4: would be another one. Get further into the weeds. Don't
• 44:47
  Speaker 4: let kind of an Andre Yoshavas type beat you the
• 44:52
  Speaker 4: way he did down the seam in that Thursday night
• 44:55
  Speaker 4: game last year. Now he's not going to play in
• 44:57
  Speaker 4: this game. He's out with a thumb injury, but they'll
• 44:59
  Speaker 4: have another Andre Yoshavas type as the number three receiver.
• 45:04
  Speaker 4: And that goes back to the whole Michael Jordan analogy.
• 45:09
  Speaker 4: You can't let John Paxson drain a bunch of threes
• 45:11
  Speaker 4: against you in this game or that's going to make
• 45:13
  Speaker 4: matters even worse. But yeah, that game last season, on
• 45:18
  Speaker 4: the Thursday night, Yoshibos hit a big 37-yard catch. I
• 45:23
  Speaker 4: think it was over Darius Slay. So, you know, we'll
• 45:26
  Speaker 4: see who's out there for the Steelers at corner, whether
• 45:28
  Speaker 4: it's Jamel Dean and Asante Samuel Jr., if Joey Porter Jr.
• 45:32
  Speaker 4: gets in there, if Jalen Ramsey's in the slot, if
• 45:35
  Speaker 4: Brandon Echols pops up, if Dalen Everett gets pressed into duty.
• 45:39
  Speaker 4: It's always a bit of a baptism by fire. James
• 45:42
  Speaker 4: Pierre had been there before against the Bengals, and it
• 45:45
  Speaker 4: wasn't too fun for him. So, yeah, it's– stresses everybody,
• 45:48
  Speaker 4: but it makes for some really good marquee matchups.
• 45:51
  Speaker 5: Hey, don't forget about Scottie Pippen, the best number two
• 45:54
  Speaker 5: man ever in NBA history, whenever you're going through your
• 45:56
  Speaker 5: Bulls analogies.
• 45:58
  Speaker 3: Good stuff, Double B. That's going to do it for
• 46:00
  Speaker 3: our number one.
• 46:01
  Speaker 5: When we come back, we are going to go over
• 46:03
  Speaker 5: some NFL stat leaders to kick off the three o'clock hour.
• 46:06
  Speaker 5: We'll also get into some previewing Matchups in and around
• 46:09
  Speaker 5: the AFC North, AFC, and of course, Craig Wolfley, 340.
• 46:12
  Speaker 5: We'll have a special segment devoted to Wolf as he
• 46:15
  Speaker 5: goes into the Hall of Honor this weekend.
• 46:18
  Speaker 3: I'm Troop. He's back.
• 46:19
  Speaker 5: Oh, it's the Steelers report right here on Steelers Nation Radio,
• 46:23
  Speaker 5: part of the Steelers Audio Network.