The Pittsburgh Steelers and the other organizations within the AFC North all despise one another, as division games in the amongst the teams are usually extremely chippy and close. The Steelers biggest rival is the Baltimore Ravens, however the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns have also grown as rivals of the Steelers since they each have improved their teams over the last few years.

Steelers outside linebacker Alex Highsmith registers a sack on Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow during the 2022 season opener in Cincinnati.

Steelers Fans And Trainer For Patrick Mahomes Both Hate The Bengals

The Steelers and the Bengals have had a back and forth rivalry over the last few seasons. In 2022, the two split the season series as both games ended with a difference of just one score. Prior to 2022, the Bengals had won three games in a row against the Steelers. Before that, the Steelers had won 11 games in a row against the Bengals stemming from 2015 to 2020, this streak included one playoff game from 2016.

Steelers rival Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow

The Bengals have turned themselves into serious competitors in the AFC since drafting Joe Burrow with the first overall pick back in 2020. They have had many intense battles with Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in both the regular season and the postseason. The two have met in the AFC Championship Game twice, with each team winning once. Mahomes’ trainer went on a rant about the Bengals in a deleted tweet on Sunday.

“I cheer against the Bengals every week. I don’t want kids to think that running your mouth and being disrespectful and bad winners is good football. I hate the whole organization. So, yeah. Go Bills.”

The Chiefs and Bengals rivalry has been one of the premiere ones in the NFL over the last couple of seasons, with a lot of trash talk going back and forth between both sides ahead of their matchups and afterwards. Until the 2022 season, when the Chiefs beat the Bengals in the AFC Championship Game, Bengals players were calling the Chiefs stadium “Burrowhead” rather than its actual name which is Arrowhead.

Steelers Ben Roethlisberger says Patrick Mahomes gets cheap touchdowns

Bobby Stroupe, a personal trainer for Mahomes, deleted this tweet after a little while. However, screenshots of it were already sent out and started being posted from other accounts. Stroupe continued to justify his stance on the Bengals and clarified why he feels so strongly towards Cincinnati when someone on X (formerly known as Twitter) accused him of hating the Bengals just because the Chiefs lost to them in the 2021 AFC Championship Game.

“No. I don’t hate teams that win in the playoffs. You don’t see any Patriots slander or Buccaneers stuff. It’s trash attitudes and the Bengals that I hate. That’s all.”

Cincinnati was so arrogant ahead of the 2022 AFC Championship Game that even the mayor of Cincinnati put out a video talking poorly about the Chiefs, Mahomes and Travis Kelce. This obviously did not work out for the Bengals, as they wound up losing the game by a score of 23-20 and the Chiefs went on to win the Super Bowl.

All NFL fans, especially fans of AFC North teams, have noticed an obvious uptick in arrogance and cockiness from the Bengals and their fans. Mahomes’ trainer was just explaining how the rest of the NFL feels towards Cincinnati. His trash talk towards the Bengals organization stemmed from him being asked who he was rooting for on Sunday Night Football in Week 9 when the Bengals play the Buffalo Bills. These are two teams who are expected to be competitors in the AFC.

Diontae Johnson escapes a defensive back from the Cincinnati Bengal

Steelers fans surely will be taking the side of Stroupe as they need the Bengals to lose so Pittsburgh’s lead on them in the AFC North standings can grow. Currently, Pittsburgh sits in second place with a 5-3 record while the Bengals are in last with a 4-3 record. The Bengals are 0-2 in games within the AFC North, while the Steelers are 2-0. The Steelers and Bengals first matchup of the season will be in Week 12, and it will be crucial in the race to win the division.