Pittsburgh Steelers 2021 NFL schedule: 5 must-win games

3. Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals

While we discussed previously that the most likely team to sweep the Steelers in the AFC North would be the Ravens, conversely, the most likely team the Steelers will be able to sweep this year is the Cincinnati Bengals. Though this should not come as much of a surprise, as Cincinnati is to some extent rebuilding, Cincinnati has the potential to be a six or seven-win team this season.

So with that in mind, the Steelers have to go into Paul Brown Stadium along the Banks of the Ohio River and take that win that is rightfully theirs. Expect this game to be all sorts of chippy, as most games between the Bengals and Steelers tend to go in that direction. No, this game will not be a cakewalk for Pittsburgh. The Steelers need to avoid the biannual Mike Tomlin Letdown Game here.

Stop lying to yourself because you know it’s true. At least twice annually, the Steelers will grossly overlook their supposed inferior opponent and get burnt, especially on the road. This game reeks of a trap game for so many reasons. You are probably going to get better quarterback play out of Joe Burrow than an aging Ben Roethlisberger at this time. Pittsburgh must play an A-game to win.

What a road win over Cincinnati would signify is two likely victories on the year to help towards playoff contention. That would put the Steelers about a fifth of the way there towards 10-7 and almost certainly being a top-seven team in the AFC. Again, Steelers fans want a better 2021 record than that, but you have to collect road wins when you can get them vs. a division rival.