Pittsburgh (4-1) at Cincinnati (2-4)

Thursday, 8:15 p.m. EDT, Prime Video.

BetMGM line: Steelers by 5 1/2.

Against the spread: Steelers 3-2; Bengals 2-4

Series record: Steelers lead 71-40.

Last meeting: Bengals won 19-17 in Pittsburgh on Jan. 4.

Last week: Steelers beat Browns 23-9; Bengals lost at Packers 27-18

Steelers offense: overall (29), rush (29), pass (25), scoring (14)

Steelers defense: overall (25), rush (16), pass (27), scoring (16)

Bengals offense: overall (31), rush (32), pass (30), scoring (29t)

Bengals defense: overall (31), rush (28), pass (31), scoring (30)

Turnover differential: Steelers plus-7; Bengals minus-4.

OLB Nick Herbig. The 2023 fourth-round pick is blossoming in his third season. Thrust in a larger role after Alex Highsmith went down with an ankle injury in Week 2, Herbig has 4 1/2 sacks over his past three games and forced his way into more playing time even with Highsmith back healthy. While Herbig is a bit undersized at 6-foot-2 and 240 pounds, he makes up for it with speed off the edge and an ability to get into the opposing backfield with frequency.

QB Joe Flacco. After being traded from Cleveland last Tuesday, Flacco passed for 219 yards with two touchdowns and a 90 passer rating in his Bengals debut. Flacco has 5,028 passing yards against the Steelers, his most against any opponent. He had a pair of TD passes and a 105.9 rating in a victory against Pittsburgh last season while he was with the Indianapolis Colts.

Steelers OLB T.J. Watt versus Bengals offensive line. According to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, Watt has faced a league-high 68 chip blocks this season. However, he has the most pressures (eight) and is tied for the most sacks (two) when chip blocked. Cincinnati’s offensive line has chip blocked 84 times this season, eighth most in the league.

Steelers: WR Calvin Austin III (shoulder) is likely to miss his second straight game and special teams ace Miles Killebrew is out with a knee injury.

Bengals: DE Shemar Stewart (ankle) has been sidelined the past three games but coach Zac Taylor says there is a possibility the first-round pick could be back this week. ... TE Mike Gesicki (pectoral) was placed on injured reserve ... DE Trey Hendrickson (back bruise) and WR Charlie Jones (ribs) are questionable. TE Tanner Hudson is in the concussion protocol.

The teams split the season series last season with the road team winning each time. Pittsburgh has won four of the past six after Cincinnati swept the season series in 2021. This is the third time, and first since 2008, that the teams are facing each other in a Thursday night game. The previous two were in Pittsburgh. The Steelers have a 9-6 edge in prime-time matchups. Mike Tomlin has a 27-10 record against the Bengals, including a playoff win in 2015, while Taylor is 5-7 when facing the Steelers.

Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase had 10 catches for 94 yards and his 50th career TD last week. He has 13 games with double-digit catches, second most by a player in his first five seasons. Chase needs 107 yards to reach 6,000 in his career.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl