Both quarterback rooms carry some intrigue beyond the starter, too. Cincinnati brought back Joe Flacco as Burrow's insurance policy, while Pittsburgh's QB depth chart behind Rodgers is a legitimate camp battle. Neither team wants to lean on the backup plan, but both know it exists — which says something about how much rides on health in a division this tight.
The trench battles matter here too. Cincinnati went out and extended Dexter Lawrence to anchor the interior of its defensive line, a unit that got gashed often enough last year to contribute to that 24-0 no-show against Baltimore in December. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, is still patching together its receiver room behind DK Metcalf, with Roman Wilson and Germie Bernard fighting for the No. 3 job — the kind of unsettled competition that can linger into the regular season.
This is still one of the more entertaining rivalry games on either team's schedule, and with a new coaching staff in Pittsburgh and a retooled offense in Cincinnati, neither side looks quite like the team you remember from a year ago. That's usually when these AFC North games get weird.
Burrow's track record against Pittsburgh has been a mixed bag over the years, and this year he's got a healthier body and a new offensive wrinkle to lean on. The Steelers counter with size, physicality, and a defense that's historically been the identity of this rivalry — Rodgers just needs his skill-position pieces sorted out before the games start to matter.