Gameday in Cincinnati: Harmon Is Back, Freiermuth Is the Last Question for First Place

It is finally gameday, and the picture is almost complete. Tonight at 8:20 p.m. ET at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati (NBC and Peacock), the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2) visit the Cincinnati Bengals (6-2) on Sunday Night Football with sole possession of first place in the AFC North on the line. Both teams ride four-game winning streaks. Pittsburgh won the first meeting 30-27 in September, so a win tonight completes the season sweep — something the Steelers have not done to Cincinnati since 2023 — and gives head coach Mike McCarthy's team first place outright plus the head-to-head tiebreaker. A loss flips first place to Cincinnati and splits the series. The big Saturday news went Pittsburgh's way. The Steelers activated defensive tackle Derrick Harmon from injured reserve to the 53-man roster on Saturday, waiving cornerback Terrell Smith to make room. Harmon, the team's 2025 first-round pick, missed the last four games with a foot injury suffered on October 1 against Cleveland. He was limited in practice Wednesday and Thursday, a full participant Friday, and finished the week listed as questionable — but the activation clears the hurdle that had to be cleared for him to play. In the first four games of the season, Harmon recorded 12 tackles, 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble. Steelers Depot reported he will suit up Sunday night; his official status will be confirmed when inactives are released about 90 minutes before kickoff. The one late worry is on offense. Tight end Pat Freiermuth was added to the injury report on Saturday and is listed as questionable with an illness. Freiermuth has started all eight games this season, with 25 catches for 235 yards and a team-leading four receiving touchdowns. If he cannot go, expect a heavier dose of Darnell Washington, who was a full participant all week after a rest day Wednesday. Beyond Freiermuth and Harmon, the Steelers' final report was as clean as a team could ask for coming off the bye: safety DeShon Elliott (ankle), wide receiver Ben Skowronek (calf), and cornerbacks Brandin Echols and Doneiko Slaughter (both hamstring) all practiced fully Friday and carry no game designation. Cincinnati's report tilts the other way. Safety Kyle Dugger (quadricep) is out after missing practice all week. Cornerback Jalen Davis (hamstring), wide receiver Andrei Iosivas (thumb) and guard Brian Parker II (knee) are all doubtful — each of them needs activation to the 53-man roster before he can play, and head coach Zac Taylor said those decisions would wait until Saturday. Guard Dylan Fairchild (pectoral) and cornerback DJ Turner II (heel) practiced fully and are good to go. The matchup itself is a contrast the numbers make plain. Cincinnati has scored 240 points this season — 30.0 per game — against Pittsburgh's 180 points, 22.5 per game. Pittsburgh has allowed 144 points to Cincinnati's 175. That sets up the night's central duel: quarterback Joe Burrow and Cincinnati's passing attack against a Steelers defense anchored by T.J. Watt, Cameron Heyward and the returning Elliott — and, on the other side, quarterback Aaron Rodgers trying to keep pace against a Bengals secondary missing Dugger. The oddsmakers have Cincinnati as a 3.5-point home favorite with a total around 49.5 — those figures are market prices, not a prediction. Projection — clearly labeled as a projection, not a result: if Harmon plays meaningful snaps and the Steelers' run defense holds up early, Pittsburgh's rested defense keeps this close into the fourth quarter, the way the 30-27 first meeting stayed close. If Freiermuth is out and Burrow gets comfortable early, Cincinnati's scoring pace is hard for a 22.5-points-per-game offense to chase. Either way, by midnight the AFC North will have one team alone on top at 7-2 — and for the Steelers, after two weeks of waiting, there is nothing left to decide except the game itself. Inactives at about 6:50 p.m. ET will settle Harmon and Freiermuth. Kickoff is 8:20.