October 16, 2025 • 40 mins
Austin talks with Brooke Pryor from ESPN, chats about the Bengals losing Trey Hendrickson tonight, takes your calls and more on ESPN 1530!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
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Speaker 2 (00:22):
Hi, Hello, welcome in our number three of Cincy three
to sixty on this game day, Thursday night football at
PAI Corpse Stadium tonight in a division rival coming to town,
the Cincinnati Bengals hosting the dreaded Pittsburgh Steelers. And to
get the Steelers perspective on tonight's game, let's talk to
the person covering the Steelers for ESPN. Friend of the show,
(00:45):
been on many times, our friend Brooke Pryor, joining us now, Brooke,
welcome back. How you doing?
Speaker 3 (00:50):
Are you?
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Do you get amped up on game day? Do reporters
get amped up?
Speaker 4 (00:55):
I get amped up, and then I have to remind
myself that, like the players, this is the long day,
especially your primetime game. Like it's bizarre for me to
sleep in until like nine am in the middle of
the week, but I have to remind myself. Okay, no,
this is this is a marathon and also kind of
a sprint. So I've had one coffee today. I am
(01:16):
positive I will have many.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
More, you and me both. I have to be on
the air until two thirty this morning, so I certainly
know the long, long game here. Okay, let's talk about
the game. When you think of this game Bengals Steelers,
the first matchup or the most important matchup on the
field that comes to mind as what.
Speaker 5 (01:39):
Ooh, that is a great question.
Speaker 4 (01:41):
I'm gonna go, oh man, because there are many important matchups.
I kind of think it might be Mike Tomlin versus
Joe Flacco. And I know that Mike Tomlin is not
on the field, but this week, the way that Mike
Tomlin kind of called out the Browns for trading Joe Flacco,
he puts some extra heat on this matchup. Mike Tomlin
(02:03):
knows Joe Flacco very very well. He has faced him
twenty two times in the regular season and is eleven
and eleven against him. I believe Joe Flacco ten and
eleven when he's been a starter. The last time they
faced them was in Indy when he came in for
an injured Anthony Richardson and Mike Tomlin and defensive coordinator
(02:23):
Tarrell Austin both said this week that when they were
preparing for that Indianapolis game that they did not want
to see Joe Flacco. They were so clear about that,
and he came in and we saw why they did
not want to see him through two touchdowns, almost two
hundred passing yards, just a really calm, veteran presence, still
has a big arm despite being forty years old. So
(02:45):
I think that's that's what I'm going to be watching.
I guess the.
Speaker 5 (02:48):
Better you know.
Speaker 4 (02:49):
Distillation of that is the Steelers defense against Joe Flacco.
But Mike Tomlin is the architect of this defense, So
I think it comes down to Mike Tomlin versus.
Speaker 5 (02:59):
Joe Flacco in this.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
I was glad that Tomlin said what he said number one,
because I felt like the game could use a little
bit of juice. And number two, I think the division
in and of itself needs a little bit of juice.
What have you learned? Like? Where did that come from?
Was it strictly I don't want to face Joe Flacco.
Was it a shot at the Browns? Is there something there?
Because it kind of seemed out of left field.
Speaker 4 (03:20):
Yeah. I do think it's a little bit of both.
I think that there is some frustration with how the
Browns are doing business that they helped out an interdivision
team at the most crucial position. I think that it
also is just a reflection of how he views football
and how he views you know, gms and things like that.
Speaker 5 (03:40):
Like he's not a map guy.
Speaker 4 (03:41):
So where Interburry sees that he got an advantage in
the pickswap and was able to get something in return
for Joe Flacco, Mike Tomlin looks at that and thinks, Okay,
but you're hurting yourself this year and you were helping
another team in this division this year.
Speaker 5 (03:57):
Mike Tomlin is not a plan for.
Speaker 4 (03:59):
The future type of head coach. He is worried about
the here and now. I mean he said it himself
a couple of weeks ago. He's not a big picture guy.
So I think that's just a difference in philosophies. And
I think there's something to be said for if you
look at how Jake Browning was playing, he would probably
rather face Jake Browning than Joe Flacco for the trillionth time.
So I think that now he sees a veteran quarterback
(04:21):
who is pretty good at getting Jamar Chase and t
Higgins the ball last week in his first start, So
I think it's a little bit of both.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
Yeah, it's not hard to see why the Bengals didn't
want Jake Browning playing anymore and why anybody else would have.
Let's go to that matchup.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
Though.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
The Steelers defense they've been fine. I don't know that
anyone would say they've been great. What's your assessment of
the defense for Pittsburgh to this point and how do
you expect them to attack Joe Flacco tonight?
Speaker 4 (04:50):
You know, I do think that they've been a lot
better in the last two weeks, last three weeks, kind
of starting with that Patriots game where they forcibly five turnovers.
They didn't necessarily really completely limit Drake may but that
was kind of the starting point for this defense at
the turning point, and then last week against the Browns
is actually the first time all season that all of
(05:10):
their starters have been healthy and playing, or at least
healthy enough to play.
Speaker 5 (05:15):
And I think that that's where you saw you know, Jay.
Speaker 4 (05:18):
And Ramsey coming in on the blitz and having those
two stacks, the pass rush looks better. The secondary as
a whole was really well, was playing really well. I
think that that was just the defense playing in concert
with each other, and that's what they've been looking for
all season and that is what they did not have
in the first two weeks of the season, where it
really looked like.
Speaker 5 (05:35):
The defense could be a train wreck.
Speaker 4 (05:37):
But I think that is a combination of health and
also comfortability and health at the most important position, specifically
looking at Deshaun Elliott coming back and playing, because he's
a huge communicator in the secondary and plays with a
fearlessness and a recklessness that is so good for the Steelers.
Maybe not great long term for his body or the
(05:59):
opposing but he's he's great in coverage, he's great as
a run stopper, great tackler.
Speaker 5 (06:05):
But he is a little bit of a question mark.
Speaker 4 (06:07):
For this game because he's lost as questionable for personal reasons.
I understand there's a family situation going on and he
did not travel with the team yesterday, So that is
a really important position to keep an eye on. But
I think the Steelers plan is going to be to
try to make Joe Flacco as uncomfortable as possible. I
think that, you know, look for TJ. Watt and Nick
(06:30):
Herbig and Alex Heismith looks for that free linebacker package.
They really like deploying that last week when Alex Highsmith
was finally healthy. But I think the key here is
going to be to really try to overwhelm Joe Flacco
early and get his drill and make some of those
passes a little bit more impossible because they're not giving
him much time to throw and let those plays develop.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
Talking to Brooke Pryor, covering the Pittsburgh Steelers for ESPN
ahead of tonight's game, let's go from one forty year
old quarterback to another, how would you assessed the play
of Aaron Rodgers to this point for the Steelers offense?
Speaker 4 (07:05):
You know, it's kind of similar to the defense, although
I don't think that he started off at quite a
bad spot is the defense early on. But I do
think that the Aaron Rodgers is coming around and playing better.
I think that last week against the Browns was the
best game that he's played this season and in a while,
and he said himself that he felt better, he felt
more mobile. A lot of that he gave credit to
(07:27):
working with his bodywork guru over the bye week and
you know, staying loose and limber things like that, and
you could see that in the Brown game he was
on the move a little bit more. He was making
some of those signature Aaron Rodgers throws back across his body.
I mean the touchdown to Connor Hayward is a big
one that I think about on the scramble drill that
(07:47):
he just wasn't doing things like that early in the season.
But I think that you're seeing a comparability with him
in this offense, and I think that, you know, his
body so far is holding up pretty well. I also
think the emergence of Darnell Washington and how they are
using him both as an extra blocker and then also
as this just mismatch receiving threat has been really big
(08:11):
for Aaron Rodgers and for this offense. I think that
the Darnell Washington emergence is one of the most fun
things to see in this offense because he just doesn't
make sense. He is a unicorn of a player. I mean,
I think it was Arthur Smith said this week that
when he's watching film, he thinks that Darnell Washington is
(08:31):
bigger than Troy Fatano and Roder Jones. They're two tackles,
and yet he can get out in space and catch
the ball and make things happen on the run, and
it just it doesn't. He just can't comprehend how physics
make that work. And yet he I think has been
a really really good thing for this offense and Aaron Rodgers.
(08:54):
So I think that that the offense is the spending
at this point.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
When it comes to running the ball. Pittsburgh twenty ninth
in the NFL and rush yards per game? Why hasn't
that worked? You know?
Speaker 4 (09:08):
I think a lot of it is the offensive line.
The guard play has been a little subpar. Isaac Samalo,
the veteran, just has not really done a great job
this season. He's been pretty mediocre. I do think that
the last two weeks again, there's been an uptick in
their production. Can it gege well against the Vikings in
Ireland and then Jalen Warren coming back last week. I
(09:30):
think that they're starting to move out in space, and
a big key to that is not only adding Darnell
Washington as an extra blocker, but also guard Spencer Anderson
adding him as an extra alignment. So they're going into
these like jumbo and super jumbo packages and really opening
things up. But I think early on they just weren't
getting enough space, weren't getting enough push. But I think
(09:50):
that they're also starting.
Speaker 3 (09:52):
To get there.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Calvin Austin not going to be able to play tonight,
How is that going to change the Steelers' offensive plan
without him on the field.
Speaker 4 (10:02):
Yeah, I mean, I think that he takes away a
deep threat option. He's just he's been really good, you know,
as a guy that has a lot of speed on
the outside. He's built like a slot receiver, but he
plays all over the field and I think that he does.
When you don't have him, you do lose one of
those deep threats. But I would kind of look to
(10:23):
Scotty Miller to replace some of that, at least a
snap count, not necessarily the production.
Speaker 5 (10:28):
You also lose a guy.
Speaker 4 (10:29):
That it sounds again like a mismatch, and it is.
It doesn't make any sense on paper, but he's been
really good at downfield blocking.
Speaker 5 (10:36):
He was one of the reasons that.
Speaker 4 (10:38):
DK Metcalf was able to score that eighty one yard
catch and run touchdown in Ireland. Calvinoson was down there
out in front of him, blocking his past to the
end zone and kind of threw that last crucial block
to get him across the goal line, which again is
crazy because Kelvinatson is so much smaller than DK Metcalf,
But it just works.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
So that's what you lose, and you don't have him
on the wrapping things up here with Brooke Pryor covering
the Steelers for ESPN. Do fans in Pittsburgh get the
vibe that this is supposed to be an easy win
for the Steelers tonight? Is there a lot of confidence
going into this game? Uh?
Speaker 4 (11:13):
You know, I think there would be if Mike Tomlin
wasn't zero to six in Thursday night divisional games on
the road.
Speaker 5 (11:21):
I think that that.
Speaker 4 (11:23):
Kind of gives Steelers fans some PUDs, and they have
watched a lot of inexplicable Thursday night losses, whether at
home or on the road.
Speaker 5 (11:31):
Mike Tomlin is not great.
Speaker 4 (11:32):
On a short week, especially on the road. So I
think that, you know, again, on paper, the Steelers should
be an overwhelming favorite, but weirder things that happened. I
don't think this is going to be a blowout. Although
I am generally pretty pessimistic about the Steelers until I
see it. I'm very much a see to believe kind
(11:53):
of person, even when you know all signs kind of
point to this should be a big It should be
a pretty significant win because they have so many advantages.
But there's just some intangibles that I don't know. Again,
the Thursday night, I think Deshaun Elliott, yeah, status being
somewhat in question. And also even though Jalen Rams did
(12:13):
play incredibly well on Sunday coming off that hamstring injury,
he really pushed to return, He's now having to turn
that around on a short week. He's an older player.
I think that he's going to play, but I'm interested
to see how his hamstring has responded on just a
couple of days rest.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
Yeah, that's a good point and certainly something to keep
an eye out for. Brook. Thank you so much for
your time today. No, it's a busy day for you.
Where can people follow along with your coverage going into
Thursday night football tonight?
Speaker 4 (12:43):
It will be on Twitter or x at vee pryor also.
Speaker 5 (12:47):
On ESPN dot com.
Speaker 4 (12:48):
And I've got a story up right now about Johnny
Smith when the Steelers tight ends and his brother who
will be getting to watch him on Thursday night football
on the local broadcast in Pittsburgh from the and where
he's incarcerated forty five miles outside of Pittsburgh, and about
how John hu has worked to get his brothers said introduced.
He's now being released next year, and just last week
(13:09):
John who took a group of Steelers to the prison
to do some prison outreach. So it's a pretty cool story.
So definitely check that out.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
That's interesting. Thanks so much, Brooke really appreciated absolutely thanks
for having me. That is Brooke Pryor from ESPN covering
the Pittsburgh steel So I have to check out that
story about the John new Smith. I didn't know about that,
but yeah, I thought that point that she made at
the very end is interesting. I had heard a little
bit of conversation about this at the beginning of the week,
(13:36):
but didn't really hear much about it otherwise. And that
was that the hamstring injury that Jalen Ramsey was dealing
with didn't get as tested as much against Cleveland because
of the way that they won was on a bit
of a pitch count, and then you turn it right
back around for a short week game in Cincinnati, and
there's a history between the Bengals wide receivers and Jalen Ramsey.
(13:56):
You may remember Super Bowl fifty six mo and I
talked about it, Yeah, yesterday. T Higgins and Jalen Ramsey
going at it, Jamar Chase and Jalen Ramsey going at it.
And part of the reason why the Steelers are built
the way that they are built is to defend T
Higgins and Jamar Chase, whether that's with Joe Burrow or
without Joe Burrow. So to me, yes, the matchup of
(14:18):
Tomlin versus Flacco, like Brook outline, Yes, really important, really interesting,
especially considering Tomlin's history on Thursday nights. But also the
only life that the Bengals had Sunday was when Joe
Flacco said, fitt Jamar down there somewhere, or I'm throwing
this ball to T Higgins and see what happens. That is,
(14:40):
in a way the life blood of the offense. Without
Joe Burrow there and with no run game whatsoever, that
matchup is really interesting, especially if for whatever reason, Ramsey
would have to leave the game, or if Ramsey is
on a pitch count, can the Bengals identify that and
take advantage of whatever weakness and the other part there,
(15:01):
Deshaun Elliott, is he gonna play? Not traveling with the
team yesterday. I haven't heard anything later any news lately
about what might happen with him. That would be a
huge loss for them, And all of a sudden, you
feel better about, if nothing else, the Bengals at least
being able to keep up with the Pittsburgh Steelers on offense,
(15:21):
and especially if Trey Hendrickson's not going to be able
to go. Can you keep putting points on the board.
Can you score a little bit? Can you put the
pressure back on that Steelers offense and allow your crowd
to get into the game, allow that to have an
effect on third downs and in communication, all of that.
These are the things that the Bengals got to be
(15:42):
eye into. Use everything you possibly can to your advantage
for tonight's game. All right, we'll take a break. We'll
come back. Our three of Sincy three to sixty, rolling
right along on this game day, our three brought to
you by Penn Station on the Home of the Bengals,
ESPN fifteen thirty. Now your chance to win.
Speaker 6 (16:01):
This is football in the Nattie brought to you in
part by Postman Law and by Skyline Chilly on ESPN
fifteen point thirty, the official home of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
Well, we have some not so good news to report.
You heard at the top of the show at twelve
o'clock Ian Rappaport reporting that Trey Henderson would be a
long shot to be able to play tonight. Well, Jeremy
Fowler of ESPN has confirmed it. He is reporting Trey
(16:38):
Hendrickson will not be able to play tonight. He wanted to,
He tried, but too tough on the short turnaround. Hopeful
for next week. So the Bengals will be without They're
all pro defensive end Trey Hendrickson. Not that much of
a surprise, but we're hoping we'd at least have a
chance or see how he would feel in pregame warmups.
(17:00):
The Bengals are going to be without Trey tonight. On
the flip side, just talking to Brooke Pryor about the
Shawn Elliott. While that was happening, Deshaun Elliott arrived in
Cincinnati and the Steelers announced that he will play tonight.
He will not have a designation going into tonight's game,
so the Bengals lose their best defensive player, the Steelers
gain one of their best defensive players ahead of tonight's
(17:24):
kickoff at pay Corpse Stadium. That obviously stinks, and you know,
it's unfortunate. Trey, to my knowledge, I believe, had started
forty two consecutive games, or at least played in forty
two consecutive games, and had become a durable and obviously
extremely productive piece of the Bengals defense. And when he's
(17:48):
not in the game, it's ugly. You saw it in
the second half against Green Bay. Joseph Osai couldn't show up.
Camp Sample couldn't show up, Miles Murphy couldn't show up.
Those guys just don't get any near the same amount
of pressure or disruption in the offensive line that we
are used to seeing and have become accustomed to seeing
(18:09):
with Trey, and so without him, it's a really it's
even more of an uphill battle.
Speaker 3 (18:16):
Now.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
Pittsburgh's offense is not, you know, the greatest offense of
all time. It's not the greatest show on turf, but
they're good, and they're good after the catch, and they've
got an All Pro Hall of Fame quarterback leading them.
Who's starting to get a little bit more comfortable in
the offense as things go along. And I would expect
that Pittsburgh looks at this week and says, Okay, this
(18:36):
is a week for us to get our run game going.
We'll try to control the clock. We'll take some deep
shots down the field because we feel like we can
expose those defensive backs and safeties of the Bengals. And
also we're missing a wide receiver. There's a lot of
different ways that the Steelers can go. They also love
to deploy multiple tight ends more than just about anybody
(18:57):
in the NFL that's an Arthur Smith staple. I would
expect them to go a lot of tight end sets
and especially attack the edge that Trey Henderson is no
longer going to be there. Not like Trey is an
elite run defender to begin with, but they're going to
be running away or either right at Shamar Stewart into
the teeth of that Bengals defense to try to get
their run game going. And on the backside, it makes
(19:20):
Joe Flacco's job a lot more difficult when Deshaun Elliott
is on the field, makes things more difficult for Tea
and Jamar as well. So so far as we reach
the just under six hours until kickoff mark, things not
going well for the Bengals with the injury front. Trey
Hendrickson not playing tonight. According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN,
(19:45):
normally on Thursdays, back when we still had Tony, we
would do read and react, where I would try my
best to get our insights from our friends at NFL
Pro and the good folks at Next Gen Stats and
use some of those insights to kind of paint the
picture of the game tonight. So I want to read
(20:06):
a couple of those for you and we'll get to
a Flacco and Rogers comparison. But I haven't said the
name TJ. Watt at all today, which is a little
bit surprising because the conversation with the Steelers used to
start with TJ. Watt and he is still productive and
still a beast, but you just haven't heard his name
(20:28):
as much. And this is from Next Gen Stats.
Speaker 3 (20:31):
TJ.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
Watt has faced a league high sixty eight chip blocks
on one hundred and sixty two pass rushes this season,
so forty two percent of his pass rushes he's been chipped.
That's eighteen more chips than the next closest defender. Despite
the added attention, he's recorded eight pressures, most in the
(20:54):
NFL and two sacks, tied for the most when he's
chip blocked. That dude is a beast. What has seen
his chip chip block rate climb every year of his career,
from just nine and a half percent and twenty eighteen
to twenty eight point two percent last year, and since
(21:14):
twenty eighteen, he's encountered six hundred and fifteen chip blocks.
He's the only defender with more than five hundred over
that span. Meanwhile, the Bengals have chipped opposing pass rushers
eighty four times this season, the eighth most in the NFL.
I would expect to see Samaj p Ryan throwing some
(21:36):
chip blocks at TJ. Watt this season or tonight. Another
note on the Bengals offense. Despite facing just six point
one defenders in the box per play, which is the
second lowest or second fewest and a light box sixty
nine percent of downs, the Bengals have rushed for only
(21:57):
zero point three yards before contact per carry that's the
second fewest, and have had their running back hit before
reaching the line of scrimmage on forty eight point one
percent of their carries. That's the third highest in the NFL.
That's amazing like that, that's hard to fathom that you
are that bad and you face a light box on
(22:21):
sixty nine percent of the downs that you have the football.
I mean, that is unbelievable. Looking ahead to this, try
to get after Aaron Rodgers scenario that the Bengals now
face without Trey Hendrickson. Aaron Rodgers has averaged a time
to throw of two point five to seven seconds this season.
That's the second quickest in the NFL and the quickest
(22:44):
in a season since at least two point since at
least twenty sixteen. So Aaron Rodgers is getting the ball
out of his hands quickly. His quick throw. His quick
time to throw has led him to being pressured on
just twenty eight and a half percent of his drop
backs this season, which is the fifth lowest in the NFL.
(23:06):
On passes under two and a half seconds, Rogers has
completed eighty one percent of his attempts, that's the sixth
highest in the league, and averaged eight point two yards
per attempt, second most. Meanwhile, the Bengals defense has allowed
a league high seven point seven yards per attempt on
quick passes this season, including eight touchdowns, which is the
(23:28):
second most. All of this, none of it's going the
Bengals direction. None of it. None of it is going
the Bengals direction. Take a break, we'll come back. Let's
talk a little bit about the Unk Bowl, the Icy
Hot Bowl, Joe Flacco, Aaron Rodgers tonight at pay Corpse Stadium.
(23:49):
Our three brought to you by Penn Station on the
home of the Bengals, Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.
Speaker 6 (23:54):
You've been listening to football in the NATI brought to
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ESPN fifteen thirty, the official home of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Speaker 2 (24:07):
Hey, it's small Wagon, fifteen thirty. Welcome back since E
three to sixty. ESPN fifteen thirty. I'm Austin Elmore. In
case you missed the news, Trey Hendrickson, according to Jeremy Fowler,
not playing tonight against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Meanwhile, Deshaun Elliott,
(24:33):
the Steeler safety who had missed practice and travel yesterday
due to a family issue, has arrived in Cincinnati and
will play tonight against the Bengals on the back end
of that Pittsburgh secondary. The storyline tonight, though, is the
fact that you've got two forty something year old quarterbacks,
Aaron Rodgers and Joe Flacco going at it. Flacco has
(24:56):
thrown a touchdown pass to sixty seven different res receivers,
that is the fifth most in NFL history. Rogers has
thrown a touchdown pass to sixty different receivers, the tenth
most in NFL history. Now, despite the fact that these
two have been in the league together for a long time,
(25:18):
they've only faced each other three times, and in those
three games, their total statistics are not very good. It's
kind of surreal. So Rogers in three games against Flaco
led teams is sixty for one ZHO one that's just
fifty nine percent completion percentage and thrown five touchdowns in
(25:40):
three interceptions, while Joe Flacco against Aaron Rodgers led teams
is fifty five for ninety nine. That's fifty five percent
of his passes, three touchdowns and four interceptions. That's kind
of weird, right, two guys that were pretty good quarterbacks. Obviously,
Aaron's a Hall of Famer for as long as they
have played, not playing well when they play each other.
(26:03):
That's kind of surreal. Check out the career comparison. Rogers
has played in two hundred and fifty three games and
has sixty three thousand, nine hundred and seventy three passing yards,
five hundred and thirteen touchdown passes, and one hundred and
nineteen interceptions. Flacco has played in two hundred and one games,
(26:25):
with forty six thousand, seven hundred and thirty one passing yards,
two hundred and sixty one touchdowns, one hundred and sixty
eight interceptions. All together, they have combined for four hundred
and fifty four NFL games and over one hundred and
ten thousand passing yards, seven hundred and seventy four touchdowns,
(26:47):
and two hundred and eighty seven interceptions. That's like sixty
miles worth of passing yards. That's unbelievable. Uh, And it
is kind of cool that those two guys are going
at it tonight against each other on Thursday Night. Football
kind of talked earlier about the Steelers' schedule, and I'm
(27:07):
not entirely sure, you know, are the Steelers that good, Like, yeah,
they're good enough to win this game, But when you
look at their schedule. I think it's fair to be
a little bit confused, a little bit cautious in terms
of jumping all over them. They won Week one in
(27:30):
a shootout against the Jets thirty four to thirty two,
which no defense was played at all, and you could
make the argument that the Jets should have won that game.
And then in Week two and the best team that
they faced, Seattle, came into Pittsburgh and whooped them thirty
to one to seventeen. That's their only loss. They then
played New England at New England and forced five turnovers
(27:53):
of Drake May. Some of them were some real brain
dead operational stuff by Drake May. But they turned the
ball over five times, did the Patriots. And still, even
though they turned the ball over five times, the Patriots
only lost to the Steelers by seven points, so that's
(28:13):
a little bit strange. Then they go to Dublin to
play Minnesota in the International Series game in Ireland, and
Mike Tomlin did everything in his power to lose that game.
They allowed Minnesota to hang in there and hang in
there and hang in there with Carson Wentz by the way,
and they won that game Pittsburgh twenty four to twenty one,
(28:36):
a very thin margin of error there. And then last
week against Cleveland in Pittsburgh, they beat him twenty three
to nine in a game where Pittsburgh I think was
just a better team and DK Metcalf had another good
game in that one. So I'd look at that and
I'm like, Okay, how many really good teams have the
Steelers played. I think Seattle's a good team. I think
(28:59):
New England's a good I don't know that either one
of those two teams are really good. I also wouldn't
say the Bengals are really good. I just I don't
know anybody that would say that. But I might look
at the Steelers four in one record and say, Okay,
maybe that's a little bit misleading, maybe that's not entirely
(29:19):
who they are. And you talk about this being a
gateway game or a pot pivotal game for the Bengals,
it's also a big game for Pittsburgh because after they
play Cincinnati, they're home against Green Bay, home against Indianapolis,
at the Chargers, home against the Bengals, at the Bears,
home against the Bills. That's a tough stretch right there.
(29:41):
I mean, obviously, the Bengals are in there twice. But
you play Buffalo, the Chargers, the Colts, the Packers, all
those teams expected to be playoff teams. So this is
a game where they can get a little bit of
a cushion, a little bit of a breathing room or
a little bit of a breathing room, and a chance
really to set themselves up nicely in the AFC North.
(30:03):
So I think they understand the importance of that as well.
Talking about Rogers specifically his stats on the season, they're fine.
He's thrown for one twenty one yards, He's completing sixty
eight percent of his passes, has ten touchdowns and three interceptions,
and that's a Rogers staple. He takes care of the football.
Has got the greatest touchdown interception ratio of any quarterback
(30:25):
who's ever played the game. DK Metcalf has nineteen catches
for three hundred and fifty yards and four touchdowns to
lead them. No other receiver has more than one hundred
and fifty more than one hundred and forty yards. Their
next leading receiver is actually their running back Jalen Warren,
who has three hundred and fifty or one hundred and
fifty three yards, which is kind of crazy to think about.
(30:49):
Nick Herbig is their leader in sacks. He's got four
and a half. The TJ. Watt has three and a half.
Derek Harmon, the rookie d tackle a lot of Bengals
fans won and out of Oregon he has two. And
how about Jalen Ramsey, the cornerback we talked about earlier.
He had two sacks last week. So Pittsburgh got a
little exotic. With former Bengals defensive coordinator Terrell Austin calling
(31:10):
their defense, Jalen Ramsey dialed up a sack or two.
All right, we'll take a break, we'll come back. We
don't have Mo today because Mo and Lance and Rocky
have pregame sports talk from Holy Grail that'll be on
this station and on seven hundred WLW. So they are
getting ready for that down at the Holy Grail. When
we come back, we'll take a phone call and wrap
(31:31):
things up. This is Sincy three to sixty on ESPN
fifteen thirty.
Speaker 1 (31:35):
See three sixty continues on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.
It's time for Cincy three sixty Quick hits on ESPN
fifteen thirty.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
I was looking for Mo well Moe's not here. He's
getting set for the broadcast with Lance and Rocky for
pregame sports talk at the Holy Grail, So that'll be
coming up next from three until six thirty. Then we'll
turn things over to Wayne back Miller and the Bengals
for Bengals Steelers, and then I will be right back
here from twelve thirty am to two thirty am Friday
(32:08):
morning with full postgame coverage on the Tri State Chevy
Dealers Post Game Sports Talk Show. And I invite you
to join me into the wee hours, especially if you're
on your way back home from the game. We've got
time for a phone call before we wrap things up.
Let's talk to our guy Mike in La. What up, Mike?
Speaker 3 (32:26):
My brother? Not a hole of good? Thank you in
the neighborhood. Yeah, you get a long one going?
Speaker 5 (32:33):
What do you do?
Speaker 3 (32:33):
Go home and take a nap? Or I don't take naps?
Well do you?
Speaker 2 (32:37):
I don't normally?
Speaker 3 (32:38):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (32:39):
I always try to sleep in as late as I
can today, so I did.
Speaker 1 (32:43):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (32:43):
I need to get some laundry done, but I am
going to try to sneak in a nap.
Speaker 3 (32:48):
Yeah probably. Yeah, Well, the older you get, the more
critical naps are, but I still can't seem to do it.
I'm just too wired, too tight. Yeah, psychological fantom. I'd
like to quickly say hi to my old friend Jeff
from Virginia and my new friend Joe from Boston, and
I got a quick one for you.
Speaker 2 (33:07):
If Mike Mike his name is, His name is John,
John from Boston.
Speaker 3 (33:12):
I meant John, I said, Joe, Yeah, typical. Sorry John.
I was on my way once. It's a quickie. I
was on my way to Queen's one time years ago,
and I ended up going through an area called the
combat Zone in Boston and got robbed for three hundred
and twenty three dollars.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
Oh, oh my god.
Speaker 3 (33:32):
So don't Joe or John tell us about the combat
zone next time if it's still there. I know we're
talking football today appropriately, but uh, you know, we got
a big game tonight with the Dodgers and the book.
I do not know how in the hell Milwaukee won
ninety seven games with that pitching safe. I don't understand it.
Speaker 2 (33:57):
Yeah, and they did it without their their best group
really for the most part. And they've been kind of
patchworking it up like the Dodgers for a while.
Speaker 3 (34:06):
Yeah, but what happened with the Dodgers was glass Now
was out good portion of the year, Snell was out
a good portion of the year, Yamamoto was. So these
guys are kind of fresh, oddly enough. So tonight we've
got glass now where three point one nine going against
Alan Ashby. He's a lefty. But anyway, I think again,
(34:30):
I don't know how the Brewers won that many games.
I just don't get it.
Speaker 2 (34:35):
Yeah, I'm right there with you. And it feels like
maybe the Dodgers are hitting their stride a little bit
as well.
Speaker 3 (34:42):
You just wonder if some of these teams, and I'm
sure it happens in baseball, like in pulling football too,
but especially in baseball with that long season, guys start
probably in all this and late July, they start getting
a little burnout, and you wonder about their affort level
and stuff like that because they're, you know, they're tired
of doing it every day.
Speaker 2 (35:03):
Probably right, Yeah, I'm sure they are. I mean, this
is the the grind man like, and I think there's
like a certain level of juice and like excitement that
comes with being in the playoffs that makes it easy
with the adrenaline, But at the same time, your body
is just exhausted.
Speaker 3 (35:25):
And Aaron Rodgers scares me tonight. Those numbers you gave
on Aaron Rodgers for his age are remarkable, Austin, They're remarkable.
Speaker 2 (35:34):
Yeah, he's He's just a monster. I'm afraid of. I'm
afraid of every quarterback that plays the Bengals. I've learned
that lesson too many times. It doesn't really matter who
it is they can torture.
Speaker 3 (35:50):
Do they have any good why I haven't kept up
with the steward they have any good white outs at all? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (35:55):
They have dk Metcalf. They traded for him, uh from
this offseason from Seattle. Yeah, having a good sea But.
Speaker 3 (36:01):
That's the only one right of any notoriety.
Speaker 2 (36:04):
Yeah, because they traded George Pickens to the Cowboys and
Calvin Austin has hurt tonight. So yeah, that's the main one.
Speaker 3 (36:11):
So what's what's the key? I know you've probably said
it during the show and I was having a procedure
and I missed it. What's your synopsis of how the
Bengals can win the game tonight? Now I'll hang up.
Speaker 2 (36:23):
I kind of feel like it has to be a
track meet. I don't trust the defense and especially don't
trust the defense without Trey Hendrickson. So as far as
I'm concerned, it's can you keep up with Aaron Rodgers
and that that ultimately is going to be the thing
with me. And obviously I keep harping on them being
able to run the ball. I don't know if that's
going to change Pittsburgh's league average right in the middle
(36:46):
when it comes to defending the run. But for me,
it's can you keep up with Aaron Rodgers?
Speaker 3 (36:51):
Have they lost they have the Bengals lost faith in
Chase Brown? Or is it strictly because the offense wine
just isn't good enough.
Speaker 2 (36:59):
I think it's I think it's that the offensive line
isn't good enough.
Speaker 3 (37:02):
To be honest, Okay, thank you all, Austin. Try to
enjoy yourself.
Speaker 2 (37:07):
Thank you, Mike. I appreciate it. I will good to
hear your voice. That's our guy, Mike in La. Yeah,
I'm on twelve thirty to two thirty early Friday morning
after the game for the Tri State Chevy Dealers postgame
sports talk show coming up on tomorrow's show. As far
as I know, business as usual. Talk to Charlie Goldsmith
at one PM, we'll check in a little FC Cincinnati
(37:28):
with Tommy g as well, and of course full reaction
to what happens tonight at pay Course Stadium between the
Bengals and the Pittsburgh Steelers. We'll also look ahead a
little bit to the college football slate. We haven't gotten
too much into the Bearcats this week, but I've been
saving it for Friday. Scott Centerfield met earlier this week
(37:50):
we got the availability reports for their game against Oklahoma States.
Bearcats are heavy favorites in that game. I think the
expectation is for UC to go out still Water and
roll up against Oklahoma State. So that's my expectation at least.
And this weekend there's a little bit of Bearcat basketball
(38:11):
as well, Wes Miller and the Cats looking to go
up to Michigan to play the Wolverines. I know Xavier
has a scrimmage this weekend as well. And yeah, so
this is getting to that time of the year where
things start happening and it kind of all happens at
once because of coming back from the international break shortly
(38:31):
for soccer. And yeah, one last thing I want to
leave you with before I go. I saw this from
Nick Mangold, the former New York Jets Center and Ohio
State legend. He posted in on his Twitter page that
in two thousand and six he was diagnosed with a
genetic defect that has led to chronic kidney disease and
(38:55):
after a rough summer he was undergoing dialysis and looking
for a kidney transplant. He thought he had more time,
but it has deteriorated. And if you go to his
Twitter page at Nick Mangold n Iick m A N Gold,
he posts it out there that he's looking for someone
(39:18):
with Type O blood who might be willing to be
a kidney donor. He posts the link how you can
check if you're interested. And yeah, I mean Nick Mangold
is an absolute legend. He's a Jets Ring of Honor member,
he's an All American at Ohio State first team all
good guy and if you know anyone that could help
or if you're interested in helping. I retweeted it as
(39:38):
well at audio More. Definitely a tough, tough story there
for Nick Mangold and wish him all the best. All Right,
that does it for today. Thank you so much for listening.
If you missed anything, you can find it all on
the iHeartRadio app Just Search, ESPN fifteen thirty. Search since
he three sixty, Everything's up there. Interview with Brooke prior
(40:00):
today's talkbacks, talking with John Sheeran, the full show from yesterday.
Everything We'll be up there on the iHeartRadio app Just Search,
ESPN fifteen thirty. That's also how you can leave me
a talkback. Thanks again for listening, Lance McAllister, Rocky Boyman,
Moe Egger. They are all next right here on the
(40:21):
Home of the Bengals, Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.
Speaker 1 (40:28):
So Ucky Cincinnati, make us the number one pre set
on your car radio and on the free, new and
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fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Hi, Hello, welcome in our number three of Cincy three
to sixty on this game day, Thursday night football at
PAI Corpse Stadium tonight in a division rival coming to town,
the Cincinnati Bengals hosting the dreaded Pittsburgh Steelers. And to
get the Steelers perspective on tonight's game, let's talk to
the person covering the Steelers for ESPN. Friend of the show,
(00:45):
been on many times, our friend Brooke Pryor, joining us now, Brooke,
welcome back. How you doing?
Speaker 3 (00:50):
Are you?
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Do you get amped up on game day? Do reporters
get amped up?
Speaker 4 (00:55):
I get amped up, and then I have to remind
myself that, like the players, this is the long day,
especially your primetime game. Like it's bizarre for me to
sleep in until like nine am in the middle of
the week, but I have to remind myself. Okay, no,
this is this is a marathon and also kind of
a sprint. So I've had one coffee today. I am
(01:16):
positive I will have many.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
More, you and me both. I have to be on
the air until two thirty this morning, so I certainly
know the long, long game here. Okay, let's talk about
the game. When you think of this game Bengals Steelers,
the first matchup or the most important matchup on the
field that comes to mind as what.
Speaker 5 (01:39):
Ooh, that is a great question.
Speaker 4 (01:41):
I'm gonna go, oh man, because there are many important matchups.
I kind of think it might be Mike Tomlin versus
Joe Flacco. And I know that Mike Tomlin is not
on the field, but this week, the way that Mike
Tomlin kind of called out the Browns for trading Joe Flacco,
he puts some extra heat on this matchup. Mike Tomlin
(02:03):
knows Joe Flacco very very well. He has faced him
twenty two times in the regular season and is eleven
and eleven against him. I believe Joe Flacco ten and
eleven when he's been a starter. The last time they
faced them was in Indy when he came in for
an injured Anthony Richardson and Mike Tomlin and defensive coordinator
(02:23):
Tarrell Austin both said this week that when they were
preparing for that Indianapolis game that they did not want
to see Joe Flacco. They were so clear about that,
and he came in and we saw why they did
not want to see him through two touchdowns, almost two
hundred passing yards, just a really calm, veteran presence, still
has a big arm despite being forty years old. So
(02:45):
I think that's that's what I'm going to be watching.
I guess the.
Speaker 5 (02:48):
Better you know.
Speaker 4 (02:49):
Distillation of that is the Steelers defense against Joe Flacco.
But Mike Tomlin is the architect of this defense, So
I think it comes down to Mike Tomlin versus.
Speaker 5 (02:59):
Joe Flacco in this.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
I was glad that Tomlin said what he said number one,
because I felt like the game could use a little
bit of juice. And number two, I think the division
in and of itself needs a little bit of juice.
What have you learned? Like? Where did that come from?
Was it strictly I don't want to face Joe Flacco.
Was it a shot at the Browns? Is there something there?
Because it kind of seemed out of left field.
Speaker 4 (03:20):
Yeah. I do think it's a little bit of both.
I think that there is some frustration with how the
Browns are doing business that they helped out an interdivision
team at the most crucial position. I think that it
also is just a reflection of how he views football
and how he views you know, gms and things like that.
Speaker 5 (03:40):
Like he's not a map guy.
Speaker 4 (03:41):
So where Interburry sees that he got an advantage in
the pickswap and was able to get something in return
for Joe Flacco, Mike Tomlin looks at that and thinks, Okay,
but you're hurting yourself this year and you were helping
another team in this division this year.
Speaker 5 (03:57):
Mike Tomlin is not a plan for.
Speaker 4 (03:59):
The future type of head coach. He is worried about
the here and now. I mean he said it himself
a couple of weeks ago. He's not a big picture guy.
So I think that's just a difference in philosophies. And
I think there's something to be said for if you
look at how Jake Browning was playing, he would probably
rather face Jake Browning than Joe Flacco for the trillionth time.
So I think that now he sees a veteran quarterback
(04:21):
who is pretty good at getting Jamar Chase and t
Higgins the ball last week in his first start, So
I think it's a little bit of both.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
Yeah, it's not hard to see why the Bengals didn't
want Jake Browning playing anymore and why anybody else would have.
Let's go to that matchup.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
Though.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
The Steelers defense they've been fine. I don't know that
anyone would say they've been great. What's your assessment of
the defense for Pittsburgh to this point and how do
you expect them to attack Joe Flacco tonight?
Speaker 4 (04:50):
You know, I do think that they've been a lot
better in the last two weeks, last three weeks, kind
of starting with that Patriots game where they forcibly five turnovers.
They didn't necessarily really completely limit Drake may but that
was kind of the starting point for this defense at
the turning point, and then last week against the Browns
is actually the first time all season that all of
(05:10):
their starters have been healthy and playing, or at least
healthy enough to play.
Speaker 5 (05:15):
And I think that that's where you saw you know, Jay.
Speaker 4 (05:18):
And Ramsey coming in on the blitz and having those
two stacks, the pass rush looks better. The secondary as
a whole was really well, was playing really well. I
think that that was just the defense playing in concert
with each other, and that's what they've been looking for
all season and that is what they did not have
in the first two weeks of the season, where it
really looked like.
Speaker 5 (05:35):
The defense could be a train wreck.
Speaker 4 (05:37):
But I think that is a combination of health and
also comfortability and health at the most important position, specifically
looking at Deshaun Elliott coming back and playing, because he's
a huge communicator in the secondary and plays with a
fearlessness and a recklessness that is so good for the Steelers.
Maybe not great long term for his body or the
(05:59):
opposing but he's he's great in coverage, he's great as
a run stopper, great tackler.
Speaker 5 (06:05):
But he is a little bit of a question mark.
Speaker 4 (06:07):
For this game because he's lost as questionable for personal reasons.
I understand there's a family situation going on and he
did not travel with the team yesterday, So that is
a really important position to keep an eye on. But
I think the Steelers plan is going to be to
try to make Joe Flacco as uncomfortable as possible. I
think that, you know, look for TJ. Watt and Nick
(06:30):
Herbig and Alex Heismith looks for that free linebacker package.
They really like deploying that last week when Alex Highsmith
was finally healthy. But I think the key here is
going to be to really try to overwhelm Joe Flacco
early and get his drill and make some of those
passes a little bit more impossible because they're not giving
him much time to throw and let those plays develop.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
Talking to Brooke Pryor, covering the Pittsburgh Steelers for ESPN
ahead of tonight's game, let's go from one forty year
old quarterback to another, how would you assessed the play
of Aaron Rodgers to this point for the Steelers offense?
Speaker 4 (07:05):
You know, it's kind of similar to the defense, although
I don't think that he started off at quite a
bad spot is the defense early on. But I do
think that the Aaron Rodgers is coming around and playing better.
I think that last week against the Browns was the
best game that he's played this season and in a while,
and he said himself that he felt better, he felt
more mobile. A lot of that he gave credit to
(07:27):
working with his bodywork guru over the bye week and
you know, staying loose and limber things like that, and
you could see that in the Brown game he was
on the move a little bit more. He was making
some of those signature Aaron Rodgers throws back across his body.
I mean the touchdown to Connor Hayward is a big
one that I think about on the scramble drill that
(07:47):
he just wasn't doing things like that early in the season.
But I think that you're seeing a comparability with him
in this offense, and I think that, you know, his
body so far is holding up pretty well. I also
think the emergence of Darnell Washington and how they are
using him both as an extra blocker and then also
as this just mismatch receiving threat has been really big
(08:11):
for Aaron Rodgers and for this offense. I think that
the Darnell Washington emergence is one of the most fun
things to see in this offense because he just doesn't
make sense. He is a unicorn of a player. I mean,
I think it was Arthur Smith said this week that
when he's watching film, he thinks that Darnell Washington is
(08:31):
bigger than Troy Fatano and Roder Jones. They're two tackles,
and yet he can get out in space and catch
the ball and make things happen on the run, and
it just it doesn't. He just can't comprehend how physics
make that work. And yet he I think has been
a really really good thing for this offense and Aaron Rodgers.
(08:54):
So I think that that the offense is the spending
at this point.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
When it comes to running the ball. Pittsburgh twenty ninth
in the NFL and rush yards per game? Why hasn't
that worked? You know?
Speaker 4 (09:08):
I think a lot of it is the offensive line.
The guard play has been a little subpar. Isaac Samalo,
the veteran, just has not really done a great job
this season. He's been pretty mediocre. I do think that
the last two weeks again, there's been an uptick in
their production. Can it gege well against the Vikings in
Ireland and then Jalen Warren coming back last week. I
(09:30):
think that they're starting to move out in space, and
a big key to that is not only adding Darnell
Washington as an extra blocker, but also guard Spencer Anderson
adding him as an extra alignment. So they're going into
these like jumbo and super jumbo packages and really opening
things up. But I think early on they just weren't
getting enough space, weren't getting enough push. But I think
(09:50):
that they're also starting.
Speaker 3 (09:52):
To get there.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Calvin Austin not going to be able to play tonight,
How is that going to change the Steelers' offensive plan
without him on the field.
Speaker 4 (10:02):
Yeah, I mean, I think that he takes away a
deep threat option. He's just he's been really good, you know,
as a guy that has a lot of speed on
the outside. He's built like a slot receiver, but he
plays all over the field and I think that he does.
When you don't have him, you do lose one of
those deep threats. But I would kind of look to
(10:23):
Scotty Miller to replace some of that, at least a
snap count, not necessarily the production.
Speaker 5 (10:28):
You also lose a guy.
Speaker 4 (10:29):
That it sounds again like a mismatch, and it is.
It doesn't make any sense on paper, but he's been
really good at downfield blocking.
Speaker 5 (10:36):
He was one of the reasons that.
Speaker 4 (10:38):
DK Metcalf was able to score that eighty one yard
catch and run touchdown in Ireland. Calvinoson was down there
out in front of him, blocking his past to the
end zone and kind of threw that last crucial block
to get him across the goal line, which again is
crazy because Kelvinatson is so much smaller than DK Metcalf,
But it just works.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
So that's what you lose, and you don't have him
on the wrapping things up here with Brooke Pryor covering
the Steelers for ESPN. Do fans in Pittsburgh get the
vibe that this is supposed to be an easy win
for the Steelers tonight? Is there a lot of confidence
going into this game? Uh?
Speaker 4 (11:13):
You know, I think there would be if Mike Tomlin
wasn't zero to six in Thursday night divisional games on
the road.
Speaker 5 (11:21):
I think that that.
Speaker 4 (11:23):
Kind of gives Steelers fans some PUDs, and they have
watched a lot of inexplicable Thursday night losses, whether at
home or on the road.
Speaker 5 (11:31):
Mike Tomlin is not great.
Speaker 4 (11:32):
On a short week, especially on the road. So I
think that, you know, again, on paper, the Steelers should
be an overwhelming favorite, but weirder things that happened. I
don't think this is going to be a blowout. Although
I am generally pretty pessimistic about the Steelers until I
see it. I'm very much a see to believe kind
(11:53):
of person, even when you know all signs kind of
point to this should be a big It should be
a pretty significant win because they have so many advantages.
But there's just some intangibles that I don't know. Again,
the Thursday night, I think Deshaun Elliott, yeah, status being
somewhat in question. And also even though Jalen Rams did
(12:13):
play incredibly well on Sunday coming off that hamstring injury,
he really pushed to return, He's now having to turn
that around on a short week. He's an older player.
I think that he's going to play, but I'm interested
to see how his hamstring has responded on just a
couple of days rest.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
Yeah, that's a good point and certainly something to keep
an eye out for. Brook. Thank you so much for
your time today. No, it's a busy day for you.
Where can people follow along with your coverage going into
Thursday night football tonight?
Speaker 4 (12:43):
It will be on Twitter or x at vee pryor also.
Speaker 5 (12:47):
On ESPN dot com.
Speaker 4 (12:48):
And I've got a story up right now about Johnny
Smith when the Steelers tight ends and his brother who
will be getting to watch him on Thursday night football
on the local broadcast in Pittsburgh from the and where
he's incarcerated forty five miles outside of Pittsburgh, and about
how John hu has worked to get his brothers said introduced.
He's now being released next year, and just last week
(13:09):
John who took a group of Steelers to the prison
to do some prison outreach. So it's a pretty cool story.
So definitely check that out.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
That's interesting. Thanks so much, Brooke really appreciated absolutely thanks
for having me. That is Brooke Pryor from ESPN covering
the Pittsburgh steel So I have to check out that
story about the John new Smith. I didn't know about that,
but yeah, I thought that point that she made at
the very end is interesting. I had heard a little
bit of conversation about this at the beginning of the week,
(13:36):
but didn't really hear much about it otherwise. And that
was that the hamstring injury that Jalen Ramsey was dealing
with didn't get as tested as much against Cleveland because
of the way that they won was on a bit
of a pitch count, and then you turn it right
back around for a short week game in Cincinnati, and
there's a history between the Bengals wide receivers and Jalen Ramsey.
(13:56):
You may remember Super Bowl fifty six mo and I
talked about it, Yeah, yesterday. T Higgins and Jalen Ramsey
going at it, Jamar Chase and Jalen Ramsey going at it.
And part of the reason why the Steelers are built
the way that they are built is to defend T
Higgins and Jamar Chase, whether that's with Joe Burrow or
without Joe Burrow. So to me, yes, the matchup of
(14:18):
Tomlin versus Flacco, like Brook outline, Yes, really important, really interesting,
especially considering Tomlin's history on Thursday nights. But also the
only life that the Bengals had Sunday was when Joe
Flacco said, fitt Jamar down there somewhere, or I'm throwing
this ball to T Higgins and see what happens. That is,
(14:40):
in a way the life blood of the offense. Without
Joe Burrow there and with no run game whatsoever, that
matchup is really interesting, especially if for whatever reason, Ramsey
would have to leave the game, or if Ramsey is
on a pitch count, can the Bengals identify that and
take advantage of whatever weakness and the other part there,
(15:01):
Deshaun Elliott, is he gonna play? Not traveling with the
team yesterday. I haven't heard anything later any news lately
about what might happen with him. That would be a
huge loss for them, And all of a sudden, you
feel better about, if nothing else, the Bengals at least
being able to keep up with the Pittsburgh Steelers on offense,
(15:21):
and especially if Trey Hendrickson's not going to be able
to go. Can you keep putting points on the board.
Can you score a little bit? Can you put the
pressure back on that Steelers offense and allow your crowd
to get into the game, allow that to have an
effect on third downs and in communication, all of that.
These are the things that the Bengals got to be
(15:42):
eye into. Use everything you possibly can to your advantage
for tonight's game. All right, we'll take a break. We'll
come back. Our three of Sincy three to sixty, rolling
right along on this game day, our three brought to
you by Penn Station on the Home of the Bengals,
ESPN fifteen thirty. Now your chance to win.
Speaker 6 (16:01):
This is football in the Nattie brought to you in
part by Postman Law and by Skyline Chilly on ESPN
fifteen point thirty, the official home of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
Well, we have some not so good news to report.
You heard at the top of the show at twelve
o'clock Ian Rappaport reporting that Trey Henderson would be a
long shot to be able to play tonight. Well, Jeremy
Fowler of ESPN has confirmed it. He is reporting Trey
(16:38):
Hendrickson will not be able to play tonight. He wanted to,
He tried, but too tough on the short turnaround. Hopeful
for next week. So the Bengals will be without They're
all pro defensive end Trey Hendrickson. Not that much of
a surprise, but we're hoping we'd at least have a
chance or see how he would feel in pregame warmups.
(17:00):
The Bengals are going to be without Trey tonight. On
the flip side, just talking to Brooke Pryor about the
Shawn Elliott. While that was happening, Deshaun Elliott arrived in
Cincinnati and the Steelers announced that he will play tonight.
He will not have a designation going into tonight's game,
so the Bengals lose their best defensive player, the Steelers
gain one of their best defensive players ahead of tonight's
(17:24):
kickoff at pay Corpse Stadium. That obviously stinks, and you know,
it's unfortunate. Trey, to my knowledge, I believe, had started
forty two consecutive games, or at least played in forty
two consecutive games, and had become a durable and obviously
extremely productive piece of the Bengals defense. And when he's
(17:48):
not in the game, it's ugly. You saw it in
the second half against Green Bay. Joseph Osai couldn't show up.
Camp Sample couldn't show up, Miles Murphy couldn't show up.
Those guys just don't get any near the same amount
of pressure or disruption in the offensive line that we
are used to seeing and have become accustomed to seeing
(18:09):
with Trey, and so without him, it's a really it's
even more of an uphill battle.
Speaker 3 (18:16):
Now.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
Pittsburgh's offense is not, you know, the greatest offense of
all time. It's not the greatest show on turf, but
they're good, and they're good after the catch, and they've
got an All Pro Hall of Fame quarterback leading them.
Who's starting to get a little bit more comfortable in
the offense as things go along. And I would expect
that Pittsburgh looks at this week and says, Okay, this
(18:36):
is a week for us to get our run game going.
We'll try to control the clock. We'll take some deep
shots down the field because we feel like we can
expose those defensive backs and safeties of the Bengals. And
also we're missing a wide receiver. There's a lot of
different ways that the Steelers can go. They also love
to deploy multiple tight ends more than just about anybody
(18:57):
in the NFL that's an Arthur Smith staple. I would
expect them to go a lot of tight end sets
and especially attack the edge that Trey Henderson is no
longer going to be there. Not like Trey is an
elite run defender to begin with, but they're going to
be running away or either right at Shamar Stewart into
the teeth of that Bengals defense to try to get
their run game going. And on the backside, it makes
(19:20):
Joe Flacco's job a lot more difficult when Deshaun Elliott
is on the field, makes things more difficult for Tea
and Jamar as well. So so far as we reach
the just under six hours until kickoff mark, things not
going well for the Bengals with the injury front. Trey
Hendrickson not playing tonight. According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN,
(19:45):
normally on Thursdays, back when we still had Tony, we
would do read and react, where I would try my
best to get our insights from our friends at NFL
Pro and the good folks at Next Gen Stats and
use some of those insights to kind of paint the
picture of the game tonight. So I want to read
(20:06):
a couple of those for you and we'll get to
a Flacco and Rogers comparison. But I haven't said the
name TJ. Watt at all today, which is a little
bit surprising because the conversation with the Steelers used to
start with TJ. Watt and he is still productive and
still a beast, but you just haven't heard his name
(20:28):
as much. And this is from Next Gen Stats.
Speaker 3 (20:31):
TJ.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
Watt has faced a league high sixty eight chip blocks
on one hundred and sixty two pass rushes this season,
so forty two percent of his pass rushes he's been chipped.
That's eighteen more chips than the next closest defender. Despite
the added attention, he's recorded eight pressures, most in the
(20:54):
NFL and two sacks, tied for the most when he's
chip blocked. That dude is a beast. What has seen
his chip chip block rate climb every year of his career,
from just nine and a half percent and twenty eighteen
to twenty eight point two percent last year, and since
(21:14):
twenty eighteen, he's encountered six hundred and fifteen chip blocks.
He's the only defender with more than five hundred over
that span. Meanwhile, the Bengals have chipped opposing pass rushers
eighty four times this season, the eighth most in the NFL.
I would expect to see Samaj p Ryan throwing some
(21:36):
chip blocks at TJ. Watt this season or tonight. Another
note on the Bengals offense. Despite facing just six point
one defenders in the box per play, which is the
second lowest or second fewest and a light box sixty
nine percent of downs, the Bengals have rushed for only
(21:57):
zero point three yards before contact per carry that's the
second fewest, and have had their running back hit before
reaching the line of scrimmage on forty eight point one
percent of their carries. That's the third highest in the NFL.
That's amazing like that, that's hard to fathom that you
are that bad and you face a light box on
(22:21):
sixty nine percent of the downs that you have the football.
I mean, that is unbelievable. Looking ahead to this, try
to get after Aaron Rodgers scenario that the Bengals now
face without Trey Hendrickson. Aaron Rodgers has averaged a time
to throw of two point five to seven seconds this season.
That's the second quickest in the NFL and the quickest
(22:44):
in a season since at least two point since at
least twenty sixteen. So Aaron Rodgers is getting the ball
out of his hands quickly. His quick throw. His quick
time to throw has led him to being pressured on
just twenty eight and a half percent of his drop
backs this season, which is the fifth lowest in the NFL.
(23:06):
On passes under two and a half seconds, Rogers has
completed eighty one percent of his attempts, that's the sixth
highest in the league, and averaged eight point two yards
per attempt, second most. Meanwhile, the Bengals defense has allowed
a league high seven point seven yards per attempt on
quick passes this season, including eight touchdowns, which is the
(23:28):
second most. All of this, none of it's going the
Bengals direction. None of it. None of it is going
the Bengals direction. Take a break, we'll come back. Let's
talk a little bit about the Unk Bowl, the Icy
Hot Bowl, Joe Flacco, Aaron Rodgers tonight at pay Corpse Stadium.
(23:49):
Our three brought to you by Penn Station on the
home of the Bengals, Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.
Speaker 6 (23:54):
You've been listening to football in the NATI brought to
you by Cincinnati Tax Resolution powered by Toefe Sheldon on
ESPN fifteen thirty, the official home of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Speaker 2 (24:07):
Hey, it's small Wagon, fifteen thirty. Welcome back since E
three to sixty. ESPN fifteen thirty. I'm Austin Elmore. In
case you missed the news, Trey Hendrickson, according to Jeremy Fowler,
not playing tonight against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Meanwhile, Deshaun Elliott,
(24:33):
the Steeler safety who had missed practice and travel yesterday
due to a family issue, has arrived in Cincinnati and
will play tonight against the Bengals on the back end
of that Pittsburgh secondary. The storyline tonight, though, is the
fact that you've got two forty something year old quarterbacks,
Aaron Rodgers and Joe Flacco going at it. Flacco has
(24:56):
thrown a touchdown pass to sixty seven different res receivers,
that is the fifth most in NFL history. Rogers has
thrown a touchdown pass to sixty different receivers, the tenth
most in NFL history. Now, despite the fact that these
two have been in the league together for a long time,
(25:18):
they've only faced each other three times, and in those
three games, their total statistics are not very good. It's
kind of surreal. So Rogers in three games against Flaco
led teams is sixty for one ZHO one that's just
fifty nine percent completion percentage and thrown five touchdowns in
(25:40):
three interceptions, while Joe Flacco against Aaron Rodgers led teams
is fifty five for ninety nine. That's fifty five percent
of his passes, three touchdowns and four interceptions. That's kind
of weird, right, two guys that were pretty good quarterbacks. Obviously,
Aaron's a Hall of Famer for as long as they
have played, not playing well when they play each other.
(26:03):
That's kind of surreal. Check out the career comparison. Rogers
has played in two hundred and fifty three games and
has sixty three thousand, nine hundred and seventy three passing yards,
five hundred and thirteen touchdown passes, and one hundred and
nineteen interceptions. Flacco has played in two hundred and one games,
(26:25):
with forty six thousand, seven hundred and thirty one passing yards,
two hundred and sixty one touchdowns, one hundred and sixty
eight interceptions. All together, they have combined for four hundred
and fifty four NFL games and over one hundred and
ten thousand passing yards, seven hundred and seventy four touchdowns,
(26:47):
and two hundred and eighty seven interceptions. That's like sixty
miles worth of passing yards. That's unbelievable. Uh, And it
is kind of cool that those two guys are going
at it tonight against each other on Thursday Night. Football
kind of talked earlier about the Steelers' schedule, and I'm
(27:07):
not entirely sure, you know, are the Steelers that good, Like, yeah,
they're good enough to win this game, But when you
look at their schedule. I think it's fair to be
a little bit confused, a little bit cautious in terms
of jumping all over them. They won Week one in
(27:30):
a shootout against the Jets thirty four to thirty two,
which no defense was played at all, and you could
make the argument that the Jets should have won that game.
And then in Week two and the best team that
they faced, Seattle, came into Pittsburgh and whooped them thirty
to one to seventeen. That's their only loss. They then
played New England at New England and forced five turnovers
(27:53):
of Drake May. Some of them were some real brain
dead operational stuff by Drake May. But they turned the
ball over five times, did the Patriots. And still, even
though they turned the ball over five times, the Patriots
only lost to the Steelers by seven points, so that's
(28:13):
a little bit strange. Then they go to Dublin to
play Minnesota in the International Series game in Ireland, and
Mike Tomlin did everything in his power to lose that game.
They allowed Minnesota to hang in there and hang in
there and hang in there with Carson Wentz by the way,
and they won that game Pittsburgh twenty four to twenty one,
(28:36):
a very thin margin of error there. And then last
week against Cleveland in Pittsburgh, they beat him twenty three
to nine in a game where Pittsburgh I think was
just a better team and DK Metcalf had another good
game in that one. So I'd look at that and
I'm like, Okay, how many really good teams have the
Steelers played. I think Seattle's a good team. I think
(28:59):
New England's a good I don't know that either one
of those two teams are really good. I also wouldn't
say the Bengals are really good. I just I don't
know anybody that would say that. But I might look
at the Steelers four in one record and say, Okay,
maybe that's a little bit misleading, maybe that's not entirely
(29:19):
who they are. And you talk about this being a
gateway game or a pot pivotal game for the Bengals,
it's also a big game for Pittsburgh because after they
play Cincinnati, they're home against Green Bay, home against Indianapolis,
at the Chargers, home against the Bengals, at the Bears,
home against the Bills. That's a tough stretch right there.
(29:41):
I mean, obviously, the Bengals are in there twice. But
you play Buffalo, the Chargers, the Colts, the Packers, all
those teams expected to be playoff teams. So this is
a game where they can get a little bit of
a cushion, a little bit of a breathing room or
a little bit of a breathing room, and a chance
really to set themselves up nicely in the AFC North.
(30:03):
So I think they understand the importance of that as well.
Talking about Rogers specifically his stats on the season, they're fine.
He's thrown for one twenty one yards, He's completing sixty
eight percent of his passes, has ten touchdowns and three interceptions,
and that's a Rogers staple. He takes care of the football.
Has got the greatest touchdown interception ratio of any quarterback
(30:25):
who's ever played the game. DK Metcalf has nineteen catches
for three hundred and fifty yards and four touchdowns to
lead them. No other receiver has more than one hundred
and fifty more than one hundred and forty yards. Their
next leading receiver is actually their running back Jalen Warren,
who has three hundred and fifty or one hundred and
fifty three yards, which is kind of crazy to think about.
(30:49):
Nick Herbig is their leader in sacks. He's got four
and a half. The TJ. Watt has three and a half.
Derek Harmon, the rookie d tackle a lot of Bengals
fans won and out of Oregon he has two. And
how about Jalen Ramsey, the cornerback we talked about earlier.
He had two sacks last week. So Pittsburgh got a
little exotic. With former Bengals defensive coordinator Terrell Austin calling
(31:10):
their defense, Jalen Ramsey dialed up a sack or two.
All right, we'll take a break, we'll come back. We
don't have Mo today because Mo and Lance and Rocky
have pregame sports talk from Holy Grail that'll be on
this station and on seven hundred WLW. So they are
getting ready for that down at the Holy Grail. When
we come back, we'll take a phone call and wrap
(31:31):
things up. This is Sincy three to sixty on ESPN
fifteen thirty.
Speaker 1 (31:35):
See three sixty continues on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.
It's time for Cincy three sixty Quick hits on ESPN
fifteen thirty.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
I was looking for Mo well Moe's not here. He's
getting set for the broadcast with Lance and Rocky for
pregame sports talk at the Holy Grail, So that'll be
coming up next from three until six thirty. Then we'll
turn things over to Wayne back Miller and the Bengals
for Bengals Steelers, and then I will be right back
here from twelve thirty am to two thirty am Friday
(32:08):
morning with full postgame coverage on the Tri State Chevy
Dealers Post Game Sports Talk Show. And I invite you
to join me into the wee hours, especially if you're
on your way back home from the game. We've got
time for a phone call before we wrap things up.
Let's talk to our guy Mike in La. What up, Mike?
Speaker 3 (32:26):
My brother? Not a hole of good? Thank you in
the neighborhood. Yeah, you get a long one going?
Speaker 5 (32:33):
What do you do?
Speaker 3 (32:33):
Go home and take a nap? Or I don't take naps?
Well do you?
Speaker 2 (32:37):
I don't normally?
Speaker 3 (32:38):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (32:39):
I always try to sleep in as late as I
can today, so I did.
Speaker 1 (32:43):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (32:43):
I need to get some laundry done, but I am
going to try to sneak in a nap.
Speaker 3 (32:48):
Yeah probably. Yeah, Well, the older you get, the more
critical naps are, but I still can't seem to do it.
I'm just too wired, too tight. Yeah, psychological fantom. I'd
like to quickly say hi to my old friend Jeff
from Virginia and my new friend Joe from Boston, and
I got a quick one for you.
Speaker 2 (33:07):
If Mike Mike his name is, His name is John,
John from Boston.
Speaker 3 (33:12):
I meant John, I said, Joe, Yeah, typical. Sorry John.
I was on my way once. It's a quickie. I
was on my way to Queen's one time years ago,
and I ended up going through an area called the
combat Zone in Boston and got robbed for three hundred
and twenty three dollars.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
Oh, oh my god.
Speaker 3 (33:32):
So don't Joe or John tell us about the combat
zone next time if it's still there. I know we're
talking football today appropriately, but uh, you know, we got
a big game tonight with the Dodgers and the book.
I do not know how in the hell Milwaukee won
ninety seven games with that pitching safe. I don't understand it.
Speaker 2 (33:57):
Yeah, and they did it without their their best group
really for the most part. And they've been kind of
patchworking it up like the Dodgers for a while.
Speaker 3 (34:06):
Yeah, but what happened with the Dodgers was glass Now
was out good portion of the year, Snell was out
a good portion of the year, Yamamoto was. So these
guys are kind of fresh, oddly enough. So tonight we've
got glass now where three point one nine going against
Alan Ashby. He's a lefty. But anyway, I think again,
(34:30):
I don't know how the Brewers won that many games.
I just don't get it.
Speaker 2 (34:35):
Yeah, I'm right there with you. And it feels like
maybe the Dodgers are hitting their stride a little bit
as well.
Speaker 3 (34:42):
You just wonder if some of these teams, and I'm
sure it happens in baseball, like in pulling football too,
but especially in baseball with that long season, guys start
probably in all this and late July, they start getting
a little burnout, and you wonder about their affort level
and stuff like that because they're, you know, they're tired
of doing it every day.
Speaker 2 (35:03):
Probably right, Yeah, I'm sure they are. I mean, this
is the the grind man like, and I think there's
like a certain level of juice and like excitement that
comes with being in the playoffs that makes it easy
with the adrenaline, But at the same time, your body
is just exhausted.
Speaker 3 (35:25):
And Aaron Rodgers scares me tonight. Those numbers you gave
on Aaron Rodgers for his age are remarkable, Austin, They're remarkable.
Speaker 2 (35:34):
Yeah, he's He's just a monster. I'm afraid of. I'm
afraid of every quarterback that plays the Bengals. I've learned
that lesson too many times. It doesn't really matter who
it is they can torture.
Speaker 3 (35:50):
Do they have any good why I haven't kept up
with the steward they have any good white outs at all? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (35:55):
They have dk Metcalf. They traded for him, uh from
this offseason from Seattle. Yeah, having a good sea But.
Speaker 3 (36:01):
That's the only one right of any notoriety.
Speaker 2 (36:04):
Yeah, because they traded George Pickens to the Cowboys and
Calvin Austin has hurt tonight. So yeah, that's the main one.
Speaker 3 (36:11):
So what's what's the key? I know you've probably said
it during the show and I was having a procedure
and I missed it. What's your synopsis of how the
Bengals can win the game tonight? Now I'll hang up.
Speaker 2 (36:23):
I kind of feel like it has to be a
track meet. I don't trust the defense and especially don't
trust the defense without Trey Hendrickson. So as far as
I'm concerned, it's can you keep up with Aaron Rodgers
and that that ultimately is going to be the thing
with me. And obviously I keep harping on them being
able to run the ball. I don't know if that's
going to change Pittsburgh's league average right in the middle
(36:46):
when it comes to defending the run. But for me,
it's can you keep up with Aaron Rodgers?
Speaker 3 (36:51):
Have they lost they have the Bengals lost faith in
Chase Brown? Or is it strictly because the offense wine
just isn't good enough.
Speaker 2 (36:59):
I think it's I think it's that the offensive line
isn't good enough.
Speaker 3 (37:02):
To be honest, Okay, thank you all, Austin. Try to
enjoy yourself.
Speaker 2 (37:07):
Thank you, Mike. I appreciate it. I will good to
hear your voice. That's our guy, Mike in La. Yeah,
I'm on twelve thirty to two thirty early Friday morning
after the game for the Tri State Chevy Dealers postgame
sports talk show coming up on tomorrow's show. As far
as I know, business as usual. Talk to Charlie Goldsmith
at one PM, we'll check in a little FC Cincinnati
(37:28):
with Tommy g as well, and of course full reaction
to what happens tonight at pay Course Stadium between the
Bengals and the Pittsburgh Steelers. We'll also look ahead a
little bit to the college football slate. We haven't gotten
too much into the Bearcats this week, but I've been
saving it for Friday. Scott Centerfield met earlier this week
(37:50):
we got the availability reports for their game against Oklahoma States.
Bearcats are heavy favorites in that game. I think the
expectation is for UC to go out still Water and
roll up against Oklahoma State. So that's my expectation at least.
And this weekend there's a little bit of Bearcat basketball
(38:11):
as well, Wes Miller and the Cats looking to go
up to Michigan to play the Wolverines. I know Xavier
has a scrimmage this weekend as well. And yeah, so
this is getting to that time of the year where
things start happening and it kind of all happens at
once because of coming back from the international break shortly
(38:31):
for soccer. And yeah, one last thing I want to
leave you with before I go. I saw this from
Nick Mangold, the former New York Jets Center and Ohio
State legend. He posted in on his Twitter page that
in two thousand and six he was diagnosed with a
genetic defect that has led to chronic kidney disease and
(38:55):
after a rough summer he was undergoing dialysis and looking
for a kidney transplant. He thought he had more time,
but it has deteriorated. And if you go to his
Twitter page at Nick Mangold n Iick m A N Gold,
he posts it out there that he's looking for someone
(39:18):
with Type O blood who might be willing to be
a kidney donor. He posts the link how you can
check if you're interested. And yeah, I mean Nick Mangold
is an absolute legend. He's a Jets Ring of Honor member,
he's an All American at Ohio State first team all
good guy and if you know anyone that could help
or if you're interested in helping. I retweeted it as
(39:38):
well at audio More. Definitely a tough, tough story there
for Nick Mangold and wish him all the best. All Right,
that does it for today. Thank you so much for listening.
If you missed anything, you can find it all on
the iHeartRadio app Just Search, ESPN fifteen thirty. Search since
he three sixty, Everything's up there. Interview with Brooke prior
(40:00):
today's talkbacks, talking with John Sheeran, the full show from yesterday.
Everything We'll be up there on the iHeartRadio app Just Search,
ESPN fifteen thirty. That's also how you can leave me
a talkback. Thanks again for listening, Lance McAllister, Rocky Boyman,
Moe Egger. They are all next right here on the
(40:21):
Home of the Bengals, Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.
Speaker 1 (40:28):
So Ucky Cincinnati, make us the number one pre set
on your car radio and on the free, new and
improved iHeartRadio app. Free never sounded so good, ESPN fifteen
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