Steelers-Bengals Game Takes Backseat in Afternoon Time Slot

After being flexed out of a primetime Sunday night spot, this Sunday’s matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals will play CBS’ second fiddle to another clash in the same time frame.

The Steelers game will be broadcast in all of Ohio, most of Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and a little over half of Kentucky. Other than that, only parts of Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Indiana, and Michigan will get to watch.

The rest of the nation will get to see a 4:25 p.m. tilt between the host Minnesota Vikings, who are tied with Philadelphia for the league’s best record (8-1), and the ever-popular Dallas Cowboys — who are 6-3, in third-place in the NFC East, and coming off a 31-28 overtime loss to Green Bay.

This is just another example of Pittsburgh’s struggles this season, despite being fresh off a win against New Orleans this past Sunday. In terms of clawing back into the mix of things, it’s an important contest for the Steelers (3-6). Its significance is no less to the Bengals (5-4), who are a game behind Baltimore (6-3) in the AFC North standings.

However, the Cowboys are almost always sure to provide a ratings bump, especially in a game against a team that has played close games essentially all season. All but one of Minnesota’s wins have come by one score, including a road thriller against one of the AFC’s powers last week.

Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins threw for 357 yards and a score against the Bills, while two-time Pro Bowler Justin Jefferson turned in what might have been his best performance as a pro. He pulled in 10 receptions for 193 yards and a touchdown. You’d have to search in a web browser to believe one of the grabs he made.

The Steelers have two more primetime games scheduled for this season — a road matchup with Indianapolis on Monday Night Football and a Christmas Eve game against Las Vegas at Acrisure Stadium.

Pittsburgh downed Cincy in overtime in the teams’ regular-season opener.