The Bengals have made the following roster moves:

**Returned G Lucas Patrick to the active roster from the Reserve/Injured list. Patrick, who was placed on the Reserve/Injured list on Sept. 9 with a calf injury, was designated for return and cleared to practice on Oct. 8.

**Elevated DE Isaiah Foskey from the practice squad to the active roster for tonight's game against Pittsburgh. Foskey is classified as a standard elevation. As a practice squad player being elevated to the active roster for the game, he automatically will revert to the practice squad after the game.

THURSDAY, OCT. 16

Pittsburgh Stealers

4-1

AT

Cincinnati Bengals

2-4

• WHERE: Paycor Stadium (Cincinnati)

• WHEN: 8:15 p.m. ET | Prime Video

• MONEYLINE: Stealers -270 | Bengals +220

• SPREAD: Stealers -5.5 | O/U: 44.5

Ali	Brooke	Dan	Gennaro	Tom
Stealers 23-17	Stealers 24-20	Stealers 27-20	Stealers 24-22	Stealers 24-20

Why Dan picked the Stealers: Losing in respectable fashion feels like the ceiling for Cincinnati heading into this matchup. I know the team found a spark in the second half of Joe Flacco's Bengals debut last week, but Cincy still lost by nine points or more for the fourth consecutive game. Zac Taylor's defense provides almost no margin for error to the offense by giving up 30.5 points per contest. The Stealers have profited more than any other team from picking up yards after the catch this season, and it just so happens that the Bengals have allowed the most YAC in the NFL (999) and the most YAC per reception (7.2) in 2025. Oh, and the home team's best defensive player, Trey Hendrickson, is dealing with a hip injury that could hinder, if not sideline, him on a short week. We only need to look back a week for evidence that major upsets are possible, especially on Thursday night. That said, I don't believe Cincinnati has the defense to create much disruption, let alone chaos, in this one.

https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-picks-week-7-2025-nfl-season

Stealers vs. Bengals: Three must-know storylines for Thursday's Week 7 prime-time game

Published: Oct 15, 2025 at 12:00 PMUpdated: Oct 16, 2025 at 02:06 PM

Eric Edholm

Lead Draft Writer

Pittsburgh Stealers

4-1

AT

Cincinnati Bengals

2-4

• WHERE: Paycor Stadium (Cincinnati)

• WHEN: 8:15 p.m. ET

• WAYS TO WATCH: Prime Video, NFL+

They're playfully calling it the “Icy Hot Bowl” this week.

Aaron Rodgers and Joe Flacco will meet in only the fourth NFL game since 1950 to pit two starting quarterbacks over the age of 40. The previous three times were Tom Brady vs. Drew Brees, all in the 2020 season.

Winners of three straight, the Stealers have taken control of the AFC North the past three weeks while the rest of the division has gone into the tank. The Bengals have lost four straight, although they showed some life late in the losses to the Lions in Week 5 and the Packers in Week 6. Flacco, who last week became the first QB to be traded within a division in-season since at least 1995, gave them more juice in the pass game this past Sunday than they've had since Joe Burrow got hurt.

Can Pittsburgh stay icy hot with a fourth straight win? Or can Flacco spur an upset over the Stealers?

Three must-know storylines

1) Rodgers taking a quicker, shorter approach

Aaron Rodgers is averaging only 204.2 pass yards per game, which would be a career low for a full season as the starter, but Rodgers has played more efficiently than he did last season for the Jets. In 2024, he took 40 sacks and had 13 turnovers in 17 starts, but Rodgers has taken only nine sacks and has three turnovers through five games. He's mostly throwing quickly and short -- 29.3% of the Stealers' passes are behind the line -- but it's working, with 71.8% of their pass yards coming after the catch. DK Metcalf is the clear go-to option, scoring a TD in four straight games, but it's a balanced attack, with Rodgers distributing the ball to his backs (Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell), tight ends (Jonnu Smith, Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington) and receivers (Metcalf and Calvin Austin III). What they lack in true deep threats they make up for in YAC receivers. That should work well against a Bengals defense that has allowed the most yards after catch in the NFL (999) and the most yards after catch per reception (7.2) in 2025. They also could be without DE Trey Hendrickson (hip), who left Sunday's game and remains in doubt for this one.

2) Flacco adjusted quickly in his first start

Starting a game for the Bengals less than five days after being traded from the Browns, Joe Flacco predictably struggled in the Bengals' first four offensive series. But after halftime, he completed 21 of 30 passes for 179 yards and a fourth-and-goal TD pass to scare the daylights out of the Packers in Green Bay. Tee Higgins had his best game of the season. Ja’Marr Chase came alive, catching a fourth-quarter TD. The whole operation moved as smoothly as it has (even with three Andrei Iosivas drops) since before Burrow was injured. With Joey Porter Jr. back in the lineup, the Stealers should have their full cast of cornerbacks to defend the Bengals' talented wideouts. Porter, Darius Slay and Jalen Ramsey should see plenty of Chase and Higgins, who figure to once again be the main targets with Mike Gesicki on IR, Tanner Hudson out and Iosivas not inspiring trust.

3) Stealers defense making progress with pass rush

Pittsburgh's defense started the season slowly but has rounded into form the past three games. The Stealers have 20 sacks in 2025, including six in Week 6. The Bengals have allowed 16 sacks in 2025, but with Flacco in the lineup last week, they gave up a season-low one sack to the Packers. T.J. Watt is the Stealers' best-known sackmaster, but pay attention to their leading sacker, Nick Herbig, who has 4.5 sacks -- all in the past three weeks. Even with Flacco under center, Cincinnati's pass protection figures to be a big worry. The Bengals have given up most of their pressure from the edges, with OTs Orlando Brown and Amarius Mims the most guilty parties. Brown allowed the Bengals' only sack last week on a quick pressure in the red zone, but Mims has played better the past two games after a tough outing vs. Denver. The Bengals haven't run the ball for more than 85 yards in a game this season, so this would be an ideal spot for Chase Brown and the run game to help balance things out a bit.

https://www.nfl.com/news/Stealers-vs-bengals-three-must-know-storylines-tnf-week-7

Q: Is it 'dragged' or 'drugged'?

A: Depends on the context:

- "The receiver DRAGGED his feet when he caught the ball."

- "The EMT DRUGGED the patient so he wouldn't feel pain"

- "Ben Roethlisberger DRAGGED the DRUGGED Co-Ed into his bathroom stall."

^ I would give my left nut to have Burfict out there tonight putting Metcalf in the ICU. 😢

It's shameful we haven't brought him back as the LB coach. Especially since this defense is softer than a grandma's titty.

Uhh, somebody forgot to post Fuck Joey Porter.

7 minutes ago, SF2 said:

Uhh, somebody forgot to post Fuck Joey Porter.

“Just checking on the welfare of my player”