The unattractive truth is that one of the teams playing Monday night, the host Pittsburgh Steelers or the Cincinnati Bengals, will be winless at the quarter pole of the 2019 regular season.
And while an 0-4 start in the AFC North might not be insurmountable, it isn’t pretty.
Over the past decade, 12 percent of the NFL teams that have gone 1-3 (nine of 75) have recovered to make the playoffs; zero of the 28 clubs that started 0-4 have been around for the postseason.
“We’ve got to find that killer instinct … Who’s going to step up and make that play,” first-year Cincinnati coach Zac Taylor told reporters this week. “We’re 0-3. We own it. We’ve got to create our own opportunities. … We’re very anxious to get another opportunity to put it all together.”
This will also be the AFC North opener for both teams, adding a little more importance to getting the win in this one.
It’s a rivalry that has often gotten heated, even ugly, but also one that has been fairly one-sided in recent memory.
Cincinnati hasn’t beaten Pittsburgh since 2015 and has won the twice-yearly matchup just three times this decade.
Of course, the Steelers have had Ben Roethlisberger as their franchise quarterback for this decade and longer. That’s not the case Monday. Roethlisberger had season-ending elbow surgery this week after getting hurt in Week 2.
The primetime passer on “Monday Night Football” for Pittsburgh is instead second-year man Mason Rudolph. In his first six quarters, including one start, Rudolph is 26 of 46 passing for 286 yards, four touchdowns, two interceptions and an 86.0 passer rating. Rudolph had a strong second half in his only home appearance, nearly rallying the Steelers to a victory over the Seattle Seahawks.
Last week, Rudolph stuck heavily to a short passing game against San Francisco, but perhaps the Steelers will open up the field more against the Bengals.
“I hope so,” said receiver Juju Smith-Schuster.
If, as the Steelers had been hoping, the tight end becomes more integral to the offense, it might involve Nick Vannett, acquired this week from Seattle. Vance McDonald (shoulder) did not practice Thursday, and Xavier Grimble (calf) went on the reserve/injured list.
“I see this as a great opportunity for myself, and I am just here to help this team any way I can,” Vannett said. “That’s why they brought me in here — obviously they believe in me. I am going to do everything I can to put this team in a good position to win.”
Injuries on defense could hamper the Steelers. Cornerback Joe Haden (shoulder), linebacker Vince Williams (hamstring) and linebacker Anthony Chickillo (foot) were not practicing as of Thursday. Coach Mike Tomlin said Williams and Chickillo are questionable.
“We know the importance of this game,” said Rudolph’s counterpart, Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton, adding that the absence of Roethlisberger doesn’t change his team’s approach. “Every year it’s been important, regardless of who’s on the other side. The team’s going to look a little different, obviously, not having Ben, not having (Antonio Brown), Le’veon (Brown), some of these guys that have been there for a while. The importance is still the same. Both teams are fighting for their first win. It’s a division game. All the same stuff is still there.”
Taylor indicated that some of the Bengals who have been injured could use the extra day with a Monday night game to perhaps be able to play. That includes tackle Cordy Glenn (concussion), cornerback B.W. Webb (forearm) and guard Michael Jordan (knee). Taylor is most optimistic about Jordan and Webb.
However, A.J. Green (ankle) is not expected to practice all week or return for Monday’s game.
