Video Cowboys vs. 49ers Must-Win, Do the Bengals need to beat the Steelers for Burrow’s MVP chances? | FTF Nick Wright, Chris Broussard, Kevin Wildes, and Greg Jennings preview the Must-Win games entering Week 10, including the San Francisco 49ers vs. Dallas Cowboys, Cincinnati Bengals vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, and New England Patriots vs. Detroit Lions.
Sunday Night Football is back, and we have a great match up. After a full day of football, I always look forward to getting a solid game to end the day. Most of the time, this is the best game, or one of the two best games on the agenda. We’ve seen some really good football games on Sunday nights lately, and this one shouldn’t be any different. The Steelers and Bengals take each other on in an AFC North battle.
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The Pittsburgh Steelers are 6-2 for the season, but if they have a weakness, it is likely their road games. They are just 2-2 for the season away from Pittsburgh. For a team with a 40-year-old quarterback and a new coach, this has been a strong start. I do wonder a bit if the Steelers are actually good, or if they have just capitalized on their schedule. They are coming off a bye week, but prior to that, they had won four straight games. Those games were against the Colts, Buccaneers, Saints, and Browns.
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) throws against the Cincinnati Bengals during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
I wouldn’t exactly call the winning streak impressive. Winning any game is hard in the NFL, but the Colts are awful this year; they played terribly against Tampa, but kind of stumbled into a win. The Saints aren’t exactly impressive, and the Browns have been good, but it was a revenge game, as they lost to the Browns earlier this season. The other loss the Steelers have was against the Patriots. The Steelers have an easy schedule from here. They get the Eagles, Ravens twice, Panthers, and Titans. There is a three-game stretch against the Broncos, Texans, and Jaguars that could be very tough.
The Cincinnati Bengals are also 6-2 for the season, and are 2-1 at home this year. They are also on a four-game winning streak. Their two losses this season have come against the Steelers and the Jaguars. The Bengals have beaten the Dolphins, Ravens, Titans, and Falcons in the past four weeks, also not exactly tough competition. Their other two wins came against the Buccaneers and Texans this year. Maybe the Texans will make the postseason, and perhaps Tampa can make it there, but the Bengals haven’t really beaten anyone.
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Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase (1), quarterback Joe Burrow (9) and wide receiver Tee Higgins (5) take the field as captains for the coin toss before the first quarter of the NFL Week 18 game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh on Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (IMAGN)
The Bengals have some great pieces, like Joe Burrow under center, but the team could probably use some help in the backfield. They have two running backs that average under four yards per carry. However, they’ve combined for two touchdowns this season, and Burrow has three himself. We all knew that Cincinnati would go as far as Burrow can take them. He has been fantastic this season, but eventually a team that just sits back in coverage will get hard to beat. The running game needs to step up at some point.
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Joe Burrow (9) of the Cincinnati Bengals plays against the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field on Sept. 7, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
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The Bengals are coming back from Spain after beating Atlanta last week, and it was a pretty easy victory. It is fair to wonder if there will be an issue, though. It does help that they are at home. Against the spread, they are 9-8-0 overall, and 11-6 straight up. This also is probably not a game for the Bengals running game to get going, because the Steelers are the third-best in the league at stopping the run. I lean to the Bengals covering the spread, but there are too many factors that also point to the Steelers. I like the over in this game. The Bengals want a shootout, and the Steelers' defense has looked good, but not great on the road or against decent quarterbacks. Give me the over and a strong lean to Cincy.
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