Ben Roethlisberger isn’t worried about the Pittsburgh Steelers losing to the Cincinnati Bengals again.
The AFC North rivals will clash four weeks after the Bengals won a 33-31 shootout in Week 11. Pittsburgh will seek payback and more breathing room atop the division when hosting Cincinnati this Sunday.
Despite last month’s outcome, Roethlisberger doesn’t view Cincinnati as much of a threat. The legendary Steelers quarterback anticipated a win when discussing the matchup on his “Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger” podcast.
“The only good news about tonight is we have the Bengals next week,” Roethlisberger said in an episode recorded after Sunday night’s loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
Joe Flacco shredded the Steelers for 342 passing yards and three touchdowns in just his second game with the Bengals on Oct. 16. Roethlisberger nearly said there’s “zero” chance his former Baltimore Ravens rival would replicate that performance before narrowly raising the probability.
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“There’s a 4 and a half percent chance that Joe Flacco goes out and he does what he did last (time) to us,” he claimed. “Four and a half, that’s it. It’s not gonna happen at Acrisure. It won’t happen here.”
Roethlisberger is banking on an improved showing from Pittsburgh’s defense, which forced six takeaways in a Week 9 win over the Indianapolis Colts. The Steelers are 5.5-point favorites, but the six-time Pro Bowler can see a far loftier win margin.
“Our D-line is going to jump the count,” Roethlisberger predicted. “We’re going to be all over it. There’s gonna be some turnovers this week — defense is gonna get turnovers. It will not happen this week … We might win by 15-plus.”
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Roethlisberger jokingly called Flacco “63 years old” when theorizing that the 40-year-old won’t catch Pittsburgh off guard again.
“When he comes in, you’re going to get a couple of good games,” Roethlisberger said of Flacco. “And then people are going to start to be like, ‘Ah, OK, Joe. You can’t sneak up on us anymore.'”
The two-time champion also claimed there’s “no way” Chase Brown will run for over 100 yards again. The running back hasn’t exceeded 73 rushing yards in a game aside from his 108 against the Steelers.
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Aaron Rodgers is coming off a rough outing against the Chargers, but Roethlisberger expects a much better performance from his Super Bowl XLV opponent.
“Bounce-back game from Aaron,” Roethlisberger said. “He’s going to be on point.”
More NFL: Aaron Rodgers Had One Of ‘Worst Games’ Of Career Vs. Chargers
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Featured image via Charles LeClaire/Imagn Images