The Pittsburgh Steelers have a long history of being a physical powerhouse that tries to impose its will on opponents. That style of football breeds rivalries, as the teams they match up with regularly know that the best way to beat the Steelers is by doing so at Pittsburgh's own game. If you want to beat the bullies, you will have to out-bully them and prove to be the superior team. To this day, that still rings true, as the rest of the AFC North can't wait to get their chance to embarrass Pittsburgh.
"Baltimore had an unadulterated hate for Pittsburgh that the Bengals didn’t have. Baltimore hated Pittsburgh – they brought that hate. Cincinnati didn’t hate Pittsburgh. The fans did, but the players didn’t speak about their hate for the Steelers like the Ravens players did. I wish they did hate them more and say it more."
Steelers versus Ravens has always been known as an intense rivalry. Even though Mike Tomlin's squad has bested John Harbaugh's as of late, and his own assistant coach doesn't see it as a big thing, that game matters more to both teams than any other contest. There is nothing to indicate any change on that front for the foreseeable future.
However, the Bengals don't see that rivalry in the same light that the Ravens do. Cincinnati was too busy trying to find its identity for most of Anderson's time there. It seemed that they just felt defeated inside most of the time, as he mentioned that they just never had the personnel or coaching to truly match up against the Steelers until his last few years there, when Marvin Lewis was hired.
Anderson also talked about why the Ravens despise the Steelers as much as they do, and why the Bengals could never match that level of energy and hatred.
"I think Baltimore and the Steelers were the same way – each wanted to be the most physical. Both prided themselves on being the most physical so it was an ego thing too. We didn’t have that same hate. We weren’t built on being physical like Baltimore and Pittsburgh were, so we didn’t develop that same hate."
Ray Lewis previously spoke about how the Ravens used the Steelers' model to develop their own identity, and it worked for them. Even with more of a flashy spread offense than a hard-nose smashmouth kind, they still wanted to prove to be the more physical team. The physicality and hatred was why there were so many little scuffles in their most recent game in Week 11 of 2024.
Meanwhile, the Bengals just never had that desire to out-duel the Steelers. That may be why the series has been one-sided. Pittsburgh had an 11-game win streak against them during the 2010s, with one of those games coming in the playoffs. Even when Cincinnati does beat its bully, there seems to be more disappointment than excitement.
Steelers Felt Strong Effects Of A Bengals Player That Played Too Physical
During the 2010s, the Bengals managed to get a few hard-hitting players on the team in an attempt to have a truly feared defense. Instead of being tough and physical, they were outright dirty. Vontaze Burfict eventually got suspended indefinitely for trying to injure people too much. While that happened with the Oakland Raiders, nearly all of those hits were with the Bengals.
It's easy to hate a team that beats you repeatedly, but if you can't do things the right way, then all it ends up being is pure hatred. They can't just wait for the Steelers to go easy on them before playing well. If they keep expecting that, the Steelers may get another double-digit win streak against them soon. Maybe they can bring in Anderson as an assistant coach to help them get fired up about that rivalry.
