The Bengals are an enormous 7-point favorite in this game, indicating an extreme rushing game script.
The Cincinnati Bengals have run the 6th-most plays in football this year, averaging a whopping 61.3 plays per game.
THE BLITZ projects Joe Mixon to notch 19.8 carries in this game, on average, ranking in the 95th percentile among running backs.
Joe Mixon has earned 82.4% of his team’s rush attempts this year, putting him in the 98th percentile among running backs.
Joe Mixon has run for substantially more yards per game (69.0) this season than he did last season (57.0).
Cons
THE BLITZ projects the Cincinnati Bengals as the 5th-least run-heavy offense in the league (adjusted for context) right now with a 33.2% run rate.
THE BLITZ projects this game to have the 4th-smallest volume of plays run on the slate this week at 127.2 plays, accounting for the tendencies of each team and game dynamics.
Joe Mixon has been among the weakest RBs in the league at grinding out extra running yardage, averaging a mere 2.44 yards-after-contact this year while grading out in the 5th percentile.
The Pittsburgh Steelers defense boasts the 6th-best efficiency against opposing rushing attacks this year, surrendering just 4.29 yards-per-carry.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have stacked the box vs. opponents on 21.0% of their plays since the start of last season, 6th-most in the NFL. Positioning an extra defender close to the line of scrimmage improves run-stopping at the expense of better passing efficiency.