Steelers Preparing for Resurgent Bengals QB Joe Burrow

PITTSBURGH -- The last time the Pittsburgh Steelers saw Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, he spent most of the afternoon either picking himself off the turf or chasing after Steelers defenders who had just intercepted him. They forced Burrow to throw four interceptions and sacked him seven times in a 20-23 win in Week 1.

The Bengals got off to a rough start but have found their footing as of late. They've won five of their last seven and Burrow himself has been on a tear over that same stretch. He's averaging 285.4 yards per game while completing 72% of his passes, throwing for 15 touchdowns, running for four more and committing just three turnovers. To that end the Steelers are expecting a different player than the one they faced in Week 1 to show up at Acrisure Stadium.

"I feel like the competitor in him isn’t going to let that happen again," Burrow said. "And for us, what can we do to sustain that? Make sure that he feels uncomfortable in the pocket.”

The Steelers certainly made him uncomfortable in their first meeting, but defensive tackle Cam Heyward isn't expecting Burrow to get rattled so easily again. He believes Burrow's temperament and style of play allows him to be cool in the face of pressure.

“He’s even-keeled and even if you do fluster him, he’s going to give you a shot," Heyward said. "And then I just think he’s deceptively mobile. He does a great job of shrugging off defenders. If you look back at the New Orleans game, he had a really good run where it looked like everything was bottled up and then he found a way to get out of it, scored a touchdown and there’s been a lot of plays like that throughout the season."

Heyward isn't counting on Burrow to hand the Steelers four turnovers like he did during the season opener, but there will be chances to capitalize on his mistakes and the defense can't let them slip away without making their opponents pay for them.

“I don’t think any quarterback thinks they’re going to throw four picks again," Heyward said. "Man, I was mad we didn’t make it five picks. I was thinking that one was for me. We want to get sacks instead of picks, how about that? But I think going forward, he’s not going to give us those opportunities. We got to make those opportunities. It’s about seizing those opportunities.”

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