Four weeks ago, the Cincinnati Bengals produced numbers against the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense that looked like they were spit out by a Madden video game.

Joe Flacco, barely a week after being traded by the Cleveland Browns, had 342 yards passing and three touchdowns. Ja’Marr Chase was targeted 23 times and gathered in 16 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown. Tee Higgins had six catches for 96 yards and a score. Chase Brown, the feature back on the NFL’s least proficient rushing offense, had 108 yards on the ground and averaged 9.8 yards per carry.

On Sunday, in the rematch at Acrisure Stadium, the Steelers will try to avoid a similar fate. Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin believes his unit has made the necessary adjustments, if not in scheme, then personnel.

“We have a little more stability on the back end in terms of how we’re playing people and where they are,” Austin said Thursday. “You need that against a group like this.”

While the Bengals will bring the same cast of offensive firepower into the AFC North game, the Steelers will provide a different look in the secondary, one that will be counted upon to shut down the Cincinnati passing game and give more support against the run.

Consider that when the teams played Oct. 16, the starting safeties were DeShon Elliott and Chuck Clark. Jalen Ramsey, Joey Porter Jr. and Darius Slay were the corners. This time, the safeties will consist of Ramsey and Kyle Dugger, who will make his third consecutive start at strong safety after being acquired from New England.

Clark is on the bench, and Juan Thornhill, the starting free safety to begin the season, has been released. Porter will return to one outside corner spot. With Slay in concussion protocol this week, the other spot could be manned by James Pierre. Brandin Echols could be used exclusively in the slot.

“We really don’t know how it’s going to end up,” Porter said. “We just know we’re going to be prepared and ready.”

The Steelers continue to allow more passing yards than any team in the NFL, but the secondary has shown signs of improvement with Ramsey moving to safety and Dugger playing all the snaps at the other safety spot. The Steelers held the Los Angeles Chargers to 220 passing yards in a 25-10 loss. A week earlier, Indianapolis’ Daniel Jones had 154 passing yards through three quarters in a game the Steelers won 27-20.

“I like the way we’re trending,” Austin said. “Last week, we had one big pass to make an interception on and didn’t. Other than that, we’ve been more sound. You could feel the cohesion come together in that group. I think that will continue to go that way on the back end.”

A downside to Ramsey switching to safety is it puts perhaps the most versatile piece of the secondary at a permanent spot. Echols has played almost exclusively in the slot the past two weeks and had difficulty covering Ladd McConkey, who had four catches for 107 yards and a touchdown. Echols expects to be tested by Flacco.

“It’s a copycat league, so yeah,” he said.

After Slay exited with his concussion against the Chargers, Pierre held receivers to two catches for 22 yards on five targets. When the Steelers had an injury at cornerback last year in the season finale against the Bengals, Cory Trice Jr. was matched up against Chase. He gave up eight catches on nine targets for 80 yards and a touchdown.

“We have to get right,” Pierre said. “It’s another week for us to get right. Those guys are excellent receivers. They can take the top off and run after the catch. They are excellent.”

Since handing the Steelers their second loss of the season — and igniting a run of three losses in a four-game stretch — the Bengals haven’t shown signs of slowing down on offense. They put up 38 points against the New York Jets and 42 against the Chicago Bears. Flacco put up 470 passing yards and four touchdowns against the Bears.

“Joe is getting more comfortable,” Austin said. “He’s more familiar with his guys. The quarterback-wide receiver thing, it’s a lot of timing, getting used to things, and how they run their routes. You can see in the scheme he’s knowing when to get rid of the ball, when to check down, do all those things. He’s comfortable, and they’re making plays for him.”

The Steelers sacked Flacco twice on his 49 dropbacks and couldn’t get a takeaway. Flacco’s quick release — he got rid of the ball in less than 2.1 seconds on most throws — helped thwart any chance of the Steelers applying more pressure in the pocket.

To counter, the Steelers could drop more linebackers into coverage to clog the passing lanes. Or they can try to get a faster path to the quarterback.

“You have to mix it up,” Austin said. “There are times he gets it out fast because he knows where he’s going with it. When you sign a veteran quarterback who has been around, he can see things. A younger quarterback may hold it until they confirm what they see. This guy sees it faster, so he gets rid of it faster. We can’t go into a game without pressuring a quarterback because you’ve got to make him feel some heat, but you’ve got to be judicious about it.”

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)