Over the course of the next few weeks, we will be taking an in-depth look at the Bengals' 2026 opponents. Cincinnati plays its first divisional game of the year in Week 3 in Pittsburgh against the Steelers.
2025
Pittsburgh won the AFC North last year with a 10-7 record and lost in the Wild Card round to the Houston Texans 30-6. The Steelers ranked in the middle of the pack both offensively (23.4 points per game, 15th) and defensively (22.8 points allowed per game, 17th) in 2025.
The Steelers signed four-time MVP QB Aaron Rodgers to lead the offense in 2025, his 21st year in the NFL. The 2005 first-round pick started 16 of 17 games and threw for 3,322 yards and 24 touchdowns with seven interceptions. D.K. Metcalf served as the primary target for Rodgers, leading the team with 850 receiving yards and six touchdowns in his first year in black and yellow after being traded from Seattle. RB Kenneth Gainwell led the team in receptions with 73.
On the ground, RB Jaylen Warren rushed for a team-high 958 yards and six touchdowns, while Gainwell added 537 rushing yards. As a unit, Pittsburgh averaged 4.3 yards per carry, good for 17th in the league.
Defensively, the Steelers allowed the seventh-most yards per game last season, giving up 356.9 yards per contest. They were especially vulnerable against the pass, allowing the fourth-most passing yards per game in the NFL (243.9). Pittsburgh traded for former All-Pro CB Jalen Ramsey before the start of the 2025 season, who allowed a career-high seven touchdowns in coverage, tied for the fifth-most among all defenders.
The Pittsburgh defensive line still wreaked havoc on opposing offenses, ranking sixth in the NFL with 48 sacks. Alex Highsmith led the team with 9.5 takedowns in 13 games played, while Nick Herbig had 7.5. Four-time All Pro T.J. Watt had seven sacks of his own. The Steelers allowed 113.1 rushing yards per game, ranking 13th in run defense last season.
Offseason Changes
Pittsburgh brought back Rodgers for his 22nd season and added some weapons around him. The Steelers traded a sixth-round pick to the Indianapolis Colts for WR Michael Pittman Jr. and a seventh-round pick. Pittman Jr. enters his seventh year in the NFL out of USC and has two seasons with over 1,000 receiving yards. They also drafted Alabama WR Germie Bernard in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Gainwell signed with the Buccaneers in free agency, and the Steelers added former Cowboys and Panthers RB Rico Dowdle to the fold. Dowdle is coming off a 1,000-yard rushing season in Carolina, his second consecutive year hitting that mark after rushing for 1,079 yards in Dallas in 2024. They also selected Arizona State OT Max Iheanachor in the first round of the draft in an attempt to shore up their run and pass blocking.
Defensively, the team looked to address its pass defense with the signing of former Tampa Bay CB Jamel Dean and the drafting of Georgia CB Daylen Everette in the third round of the NFL Draft.
Coaching Staff
The biggest change of the offseason for the Steelers, Mike Tomlin stepped down as head coach after 19 years. Pittsburgh brought in former Packers and Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy as Tomlin's replacement, the Steelers' fourth coach since 1969.
McCarthy has 18 years of head coaching experience under his belt, including 13 with Green Bay and five with Dallas. He coached Rodgers for 11 years with the Packers, helping the quarterback win two MVPs and a Super Bowl.
McCarthy hired Brian Angelichio as his offensive coordinator. Most recently the tight ends coach and passing game coordinator for the Vikings, Angelichio enters his 15th year in the NFL in 2026. Former Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham takes over the Pittsburgh defense. Graham has been a defensive coordinator for the last seven years, spending four with Las Vegas, two with the New York Giants and one with the Miami Dolphins.
Series History
The two AFC North rivals have played 113 times in their history. The Bengals split the season series with Pittsburgh last year, winning a 33-31 thriller in Week 7 at Paycor Stadium during the team's annual White Bengal game.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
What To Watch For
Similar to Week 2's matchup with Houston, the trenches will be worth watching as the Bengals bring back all five starters on the offensive line. The unit will go up against the Steelers defensive line that generated the sixth-most sacks in the NFL last season. Last year, Cincinnati kept QB Joe Flacco upright, allowing just one sack in two games against Pittsburgh.
On the other side of the line, DT Dexter Lawrence II and the new-look Bengals defensive line will attempt to contain Dowdle, Warren and the new Steelers run game.
View the best photos from Bengals-Steelers matchups of years past
CB DJ Turner II intercepts a pass during Week 7 against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Paycor Stadium, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025.
WR Tee Higgins celebrates a touchdown against the Steelers, Saturday, Dec. 23, 2023.
WR Tee Higgins catches the pass in the air during the second quarter of the Bengals-Steelers game in Week 11 of the 2022 season.
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) looks to unload the ball while in the grasp of Cincinnati Bengals linebacker David Pollack (99) in first quarter NFL action Sunday, Dec. 4, 2005 in Pittsburgh. Roethlisberger threw outbounds incomplete on the play.(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
QB Joe Burrow throws the ball during the Bengals Week 13 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Paycor Stadium, Sunday, December 1, 2024.
DE Sam Hubbard attempts to sack the opposing QB during the Bengals vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Week 1 game on Sunday, September 11 2022.
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green (18) comes down the ball with Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Steven Nelson (22) defending during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2020, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
Cincinnati Bengals cornerback DJ Turner II (20) deflects a pass intended for Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson (18) during an NFL football game on Sunday, November 26, 2023 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Aaron Doster/NFL)
In this Monday, Dec. 4, 2017 file photo, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton passes in the second half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Cincinnati. Three cornerbacks hurt, a linebacker and a running back in concussion protocol. The Bengals are paying the price for their acerbic, season-dooming loss to the Steelers on Monday night at Paul Brown Stadium. The Bengals play the Chicago Bears on Sunday, Dec. 10, 2017. (AP Photo/Gary Landers, File)
S Vonn Bell rushes the quarterback during the Bengals-Steelers Week 1 Game at Paycor Stadium on Sunday, September 11 2022
QB Joe Burrow runs the ball during the third quarter of the Bengals-Steelers game in Week 11 of the 2022 season.
Cincinnati Bengals' Giovani Bernard (25) runs past Pittsburgh Steelers' Cameron Heyward (97) for a touchdown reception during the first half of an NFL football game, Monday, Dec. 21, 2020, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
LB Logan Wilson prepares for a snap against the Steelers at Paycor Stadium Sunday, November 26, 2023
OT Orlando Brown Jr blocks a Steelers defender during a game at Paycor Stadium Sunday, November 26, 2023
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase (1) makes a catch during an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, November 26, 2023 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Aaron Doster/NFL)
QB Joe Flacco, WR Ja'Marr Chase and Bengals legend Andrew Whitworth talk after Thursday night Football Week 7 against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Paycor Stadium, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025.
TE Mike Gesicki celebrates a first down against the Steelers in Pittsburgh in Week 18, January 4, 2025.
TE Drew Sample runs through a Steelers defender, Saturday, December 23, 2023.
WR Ja'Marr Chase makes a catch on the sidelines against the Steelers in Pittsburgh in Week 18, January 4, 2025.
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Andrei Iosivas (80) attempts to catch a pass during an NFL football game, Saturday, Dec. 23, 2023, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Durisko)
Pittsburgh Steelers' Cameron Sutton (20) breaks up a pass intended by Cincinnati Bengals' Tee Higgins (85) during the second half of an NFL football game, Monday, Dec. 21, 2020, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
WR Tee Higgins scores a touchdown during Week 11 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025.
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Laveranues Coles (11) makes a catch as Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback William Gay (22) and Troy Polamalu (43) close in to defend during the first quarter of an NFL football game Sunday Nov. 15, 2009 in Pittsburgh.(AP Photo/Don Wright)
WR Ja'Marr Chase breaks a tackle during Thursday Night Football during Week 7 against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Paycor Stadium, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025.
Cincinnati Bengals receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh (84) falls forward after catching a pass against Pittsburgh Steelers defender Tyrone Carter (23) in the first half of their NFL playoff football game, Sunday, Jan. 8, 2006, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Al Behrman)
QB Joe Flacco and WR Tee Higgins celebrate a touchdown during Week 7 against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Paycor Stadium, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025.
Cincinnati Bengals' Vonn Bell (24) and Jordan Evans (50) look to recover a fumble by Pittsburgh Steelers' JuJu Smith-Schuster (19) during the first half of an NFL football game, Monday, Dec. 21, 2020, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Bryan Woolston)
CB Cam Taylor-Britt returns his interception for a touchdown during the Bengals Week 13 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Paycor Stadium, Sunday, December 1, 2024.
WR Ja'Marr Chase catches a pass during Week 7 against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Paycor Stadium, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025.
RB Chase Brown carries the ball during Week 11 against the Steelers in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025.
