Steelers' Long-Time Rival Germaine Pratt Back To Making Ridiculous Comments Ahead Of Divisional Matchup

Once again, the Pittsburgh Steelers are on the lips of Cincinnati Bengals linebacker, Germaine Pratt. During the 2022 season, Pratt made headlines when he said the Steelers' offense was predictable under former Offensive Coordinator, Matt Canada. It was after the Bengals beat the Steelers 37-30 in their second matchup of the year. It was Kenny Pickett's first season as quarterback for the Black and Gold, and Canada wasn't developing an offense that consistently drew on the Steelers' strengths. 

Now, almost exactly two years after Pratt made those comments and a year after Canada was fired, Pratt is back talking about the Steelers again. This time, he took to X to make a bold prediction regarding the Steelers' and Bengals' first meeting of the 2024 season. 

"We will win next week," tweeted Pratt. "Believe that. Work to win."

The Bengals are currently on their Week 12 bye, so while the Steelers have been focused on the Cleveland Browns, Pratt was looking ahead. It's hard to blame him since this season hasn't panned out the way Cincinnati had expected. The Bengals were once considered a postseason favorite, but are currently 4-7 and likely need to win out to keep their hopes alive. At the very least, this AFC North rival hopes to spoil Pittsburgh's season. 

While Pittsburgh split the games during that "predictable" 2022 season with the Bengals, they won both games in 2023. It wasn't necessarily that Pittsburgh had gotten more crafty, but rather that the Bengals quarterback, Joe Burrow, didn't play in either game. This year, the Steelers are playing all their AFC North games in the second half of the season. They had their first divisional game in Week 11 against the Baltimore Ravens. While 2023's games were more spread out, the two Bengals games both came late in the season like they are this year. 

Pratt's comments were part of a trend that continued until 2023, when Canada was finally fired after an embarrassing loss to the Browns during Week 11. Other teams, like the Indianapolis Colts and the Jacksonville Jaguars, commented similarly. They hired Arthur Smith to run the offense during the 2024 offseason, and while the offense still has some hiccups to work through, it has looked more potent with new quarterback Russell Wilson than in the recent past. 

This Special Steelers Team Might Make It All The Way

The Steelers made many changes to their offense during the offseason. Still, hardly anyone in the media predicted they would do much, particularly in a division stacked with talent. They have slowly been changing minds and surprising people as the season progresses. 

They have the highest-paid defense in the NFL, and it has been a difference-maker against some of the high-powered offenses they have faced, like the Ravens and the Washington Commanders. However, the old saying that defense alone can win championships isn't necessarily true in this modern NFL. Teams have to find balance, and for most of the 2024 games, especially the ones with Wilson at the helm, the Steelers have been able to find it. 

That is why more analysts are calling them Super Bowl contenders and suggesting that Head Coach Mike Tomlin might finally win his first Coach of the Year Award. The one area in which the Steelers need to improve if they plan to make a serious run in the postseason is in their red zone offense. They have won two games this season solely based on field goals from Chris Boswell.    

However, that offense is still averaging 27.25 points per game in Wilson's four starts, but it has dropped to 30th in red zone scoring. While the offense looked more solid against the Commanders, the game against the Ravens ended Wilson's 22-game streak with at least one touchdown. Wilson says he is not worried about it, despite having only three touchdowns in their last 12 trips to the red zone. 

What do you think about Pratt's prediction? Click to comment below. 

#SteelerNation