It was a Week 1 divisional game for the ages, and the Pittsburgh Steelers went to Cincinnati and defeated the Bengals, 23-20, as the clock hit 0:00 in overtime. In the end, the Bengals could not overcome the minus-five turnover margin that put them in a hole early in the contest.
Offensive spotlight: Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase did everything he could to help Cincinnati overcome five turnovers in the game. Down for most of the contest, the Bengals were forced to put their pedal to the metal in the passing game early. The engine for that was Chase, who had 10 catches for 129 yards and a touchdown on 16 targets. He was the only skill position player to play more than 80 offensive snaps for Cincinnati, and he finished the game with an initial 74.0 PFF grade to lead all offensive players.
Defensive spotlight: Pittsburgh’s reigning defensive player of the year T.J. Watt picked up right where he left off last season. His final stat line included one sack, two pressures and five passes batted down. His 17.9% pass-rush win rate in the game, pending review, was the best on the team. Unfortunately, he was not able to finish the contest due to a pec injury.
Minkah Fitzpatrick‘s 91.6 initial PFF grade led all players in the game. He recorded a team-high 14 tackles with an interception, a touchdown and a clutch blocked PAT to send the game to overtime.
Rookie spotlight: After a red-hot preseason, Steelers wide receiver George Pickens was kept in check during his first regular season game. On 24 offensive snaps, he saw three targets, which yielded just one catch for three yards.
Offensive line spotlight: New Bengals offensive lineman Alex Cappa had a decent first game as the team’s starting left guard. His initial 62.7 PFF grade was second-best on the team and third-best in the game overall. He did not yield a sack, and his 67.7 initial pass-blocking grade was higher than each of his averages the past two seasons.
Betting Summary
| Betting Odds | Closing | Result |
| Spread | CIN -7 | PIT Covers |
| O/U | 44.5 | Under |
Box Score
Passing
| Pittsburgh Steelers | ||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Comp/Att | Yds | YPA | TD | Int |
| Mitch Trubisky | 12.66 | 21 / 38 | 194 | 5.1 | 1 | 0 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | ||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Comp/Att | Yds | YPA | TD | Int |
| Joe Burrow | 26.22 | 33 / 53 | 338 | 6.4 | 2 | 4 |
Rushing
| Pittsburgh Steelers | ||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Car | Yds | YPC | TD | Long |
| Mitch Trubisky | 12.66 | 3 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| Najee Harris | 10.6 | 10 | 23 | 2.3 | 0 | 11 |
| Chase Claypool | 9.4 | 6 | 36 | 6 | 0 | 15 |
| Jaylen Warren | 0.7 | 3 | 7 | 2.3 | 0 | 3 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | ||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Car | Yds | YPC | TD | Long |
| Joe Burrow | 26.22 | 6 | 47 | 7.8 | 0 | 23 |
| Joe Mixon | 21.5 | 27 | 82 | 3 | 0 | 31 |
| Samaje Perine | 6.7 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
Receiving
| Pittsburgh Steelers | ||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Tgt | Rec | Yds | YPT | TD |
| Pat Freiermuth | 12.5 | 10 | 5 | 75 | 7.5 | 0 |
| Diontae Johnson | 12.5 | 12 | 7 | 55 | 4.6 | 0 |
| Najee Harris | 10.6 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1.5 | 1 |
| Chase Claypool | 9.4 | 6 | 4 | 18 | 3 | 0 |
| Zach Gentry | 6 | 2 | 2 | 40 | 20 | 0 |
| George Pickens | 1.3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Jaylen Warren | 0.7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Miles Boykin | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | ||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Tgt | Rec | Yds | YPT | TD |
| Ja'Marr Chase | 31.9 | 16 | 10 | 129 | 8.1 | 1 |
| Joe Mixon | 21.5 | 9 | 7 | 63 | 7 | 0 |
| Tyler Boyd | 13.3 | 7 | 4 | 33 | 4.7 | 1 |
| Hayden Hurst | 9.6 | 8 | 5 | 46 | 5.8 | 0 |
| Samaje Perine | 6.7 | 5 | 3 | 33 | 6.6 | 0 |
| Tee Higgins | 4.7 | 2 | 2 | 27 | 13.5 | 0 |
| Michael Thomas | 3.5 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| Drew Sample | 1.2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
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