It just shows you the urgency of Steelers week at Paycor Stadium.
As Al Golden walked off the Reliant Stadium field Sunday with the biggest prize of his 19 games as the Bengals defensive coordinator, he looked like he was headed to a root canal instead of a locker room celebration.
The 2-0 Bengals head to Pittsburgh Sunday (1 p.m.-Cincinnati's Local 12), where the Steelers have amassed the only home winning percentage above 70% in the 57 seasons of the AFL-NFL merger.
"I was on to Pittsburgh. I know it's unfortunate. I mean, I was onto it. I was gone already," Golden told the media the Monday after his men hadn't allowed a touchdown in Houston.
Golden probably won't be soothed by Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow's 3-1 record in Pittsburgh and that he's won his last three starts at the Three Rivers. Instead, Golden is wondering, "What are they seeing? What we just saw? What are they seeing that fits with what they do and what are we going to see again? What do we need to stop?"
Golden even dropped his go-to quote from The Godfather.
"I know a lot of people want to stop and celebrate, but that's not the world that we've chosen," Golden said. "I say it all the time. Hyman Roth. This is the business we've chosen, and you've got to move on. And this league does not wait for anybody.
"This is the AFC North, this is the Pittsburgh Steelers in Pittsburgh, Aaron Rodgers, Mike McCarthy, we're moving on."
Short Yardage Goes Long Way
Golden may have a short memory, but he has great recall when it comes to Sunday's two biggest plays. Both coming on short yardage. Defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II blew up a fourth-and-one at the Bengals 18 in a scoreless second quarter, and in the third quarter tackle T.J. Slaton stuffed a third-and-one that forced a short 58-yard field-goal try with the Bengals clinging to a 10-3 lead.
But Golden also saw a busy Demetrius Knight Jr., the linebacker who backed up both stops, as well as edge Cedric Johnson, safety Jordan Battle, and cornerback Dax Hill.
"Obviously, Dex did an awesome job on the first one. I think Ced Johnson setting the edge there on the first one, Jordan Battle fitting the C gap on the first one, and then (Knight) coming from the backside, that was really good.
"On the second one, it was a little bit of a different look and T.J. played into the tackle really well. Dax was on that side now as a corner and fit it really nice and we set the edge on that one as well."
Just Enough Ced
Speaking of Cedric Johnson, the third-year defensive end from Ole Miss, has four sacks in his last three games dating back to last season after Sunday's two. A sixth-round pick, Johnson was inactive for seven games as a rookie in 2024 and missed the first eight games last year with a calf injury.
But ever since he came back in a reserve role, all he does is produce. He recovered his first two career fumbles in the Thanksgiving Night win in Baltimore and hasn't stopped. He played 22 snaps that night and worked 23 Sunday in Houston after playing 19 in the opener. That was the second fewest in Sunday's line rotation. Only edge Shemar Stewart had fewer snaps (five) and he had a sack, too, as defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery went for the economy pack.
"You do (feel the rotation) because you just look at Shemar's sack. Shemar's fresh in the game, chipping the back and sees a gap and is able to explode through there because he's fresh," said head coach Zac Taylor Monday. "You're able to put fresh guys in the game at that moment. That's just so critical to be able to have that depth, keep those guys fresh over the course of the game, and not put too many snaps on them.
"And you're not taking them out because you feel like they need a breather, but you're worried about who's going in. We don't really have that concern now. Everybody's playing at a high level, and so we just got to keep that up."
Taylor, by the way, not only loves what Johnson has been giving them, but how.
"Ced's an easy guy to pull for because he just kind of goes about his business and is dependable and you've got to have those types of guys on your 53 and Ced has been one of those guys for us," Taylor said. "He's a really dependable player for us, and somebody we can count on. I thought he did a really good job in the run game last week against Tampa. This week he got to pay off in the pass game as well."
Cashing In On Cashius
Golden is still amazed the Bengals were able to draft Texas A&M edge Cashius Howell in the second round at No. 41 and rolled him out for 41 snaps, more than half the 80 plays. According to Pro Football Focus, Howell had seven pressures in a game the web site ticketed the Bengals for 44 with an astounding 54.5% win rate.
When Johnson racked up the last "coffin nails," sack, it was Howell, just missing his first NFL sack, who set him up with a clean shot off the edge against left tackle Aireontae Ersery as part of a three-man rush. Howell also battled with 380-pound right tackle Trent Brown, despite a weight difference of about 130 pounds or so.
"No, he didn't," said Howell, when asked if Golden gave him a number of pressures. "But I'll take one if you got it."
Told it was about five pressures and maybe more, Howell thought and said, "Let's do that for at least 15 more weeks."
"As a rusher, he knows exactly who he is. He's got a speed, he's got a dip, he's got to counter off that," Golden said. "That's three, that's all he needs. He plays with a high motor. I thought he set the edge really well for us (Sunday), especially as big as Trenton is. And then he gives you two, three drops a game, which is awesome. It just makes us so much more versatile. And he's doing all those things for us right now, which is great."
Howell said last Friday that he needed to improve his quickness off the snap.
"Nothing specific, but just being intentional about it over the course of the week at practice," Howell said. "Keep loading up that front foot and just getting off the ball."
Slants and Screens
Asked what Burrow's practice status is this week after going full only once last week with a tight back, Taylor offered, "I think I know the answer to that, but I don't want to give you that right now." …
Knight tied his career-high with 12 tackles and got a game ball. His traveling leather cowboy hat was a perfect match, but he didn't buy it just for the Houston trip. "I'm a hat guy," Knight said. "I bought it first thing in the offseason."
He also wore cowboy boots on the way in, but he carried them back home: "Not after playing a three-hour football game." …
Knight's 19 tackles are seven away from Titans linebacker Anthony Hill's NFL-leading 26 …
Everything went right for the Bengals' special teams Sunday. Kicker Evan McPherson perfect from beyond 50 yards. Four Ryan Rehkow punts inside the 20. Seven Texans drive starts inside the 25.
And they camethisclose to an opening kick return touchdown by wide receiver Dohnte Meyers. Meyers looked like he was headed there in his second NFL game when he stumbled after his career-long 40-yarder.
"I saw a lot of daylight. I know that. It was perfectly blocked. I just followed the way it was drawn up," Meyers said. "I think my eyes and my mind saw it before my feet did. That was not a good combination." …
Meyers is showing why they tapped him to replace Charlie Jones as the primary returner. He's shown soft hands catching punts and has displayed a knack for coming up and making catches before they bounce.
"I think I was too deep on a couple, but I'm comfortable back there," Meyers said …
