Freiermuth Questionable With an Illness as the Steelers Head to Cincinnati for a First-Place Fight on Sunday Night

The biggest game on the NFL's Week 10 calendar picked up a late wrinkle. The Pittsburgh Steelers listed tight end Pat Freiermuth as questionable for Sunday night's game against the Cincinnati Bengals because of an illness, NBC Sports' Pro Football Talk reported.

Freiermuth was a late addition to the injury report, and the team's updated Week 10 report lists him as questionable. It is the kind of news that makes for a restless night before a road game, because this matchup could hardly carry more weight. Both teams are 6-2, and first place in the AFC North is on the line, Newsweek reported. Bengals star Ja'Marr Chase even brought up the Chiefs this week while comparing Cincinnati's rivalries, the outlet noted, a sign of how much this one means inside that locker room.

Freiermuth, 28, has 25 catches for 235 yards and a team-leading four touchdown catches in eight games, all of them starts, according to NBC Sports' fantasy desk. The yardage is modest, but the touchdowns tell you where he matters most. When the field shrinks inside the 20, he has been the target Pittsburgh trusts.

If he cannot play, Robert Tonyan would likely see more snaps, with Darnell Washington and fullback Riley Nowakowski also in the mix, NBC Sports noted. That is a different look. Washington is a big blocking tight end, and leaning on him and a fullback would tilt the Steelers toward a heavier, run-first plan in a hostile building.

The Steelers also listed defensive tackle Derrick Harmon as questionable with a foot injury, according to the team's updated report. Interior depth matters against a Cincinnati offense built to punish mismatches.

An illness designation is often a true game-time call. Players who look shaky on Saturday sometimes feel fine by Sunday afternoon, and others never get their strength back in time. Pittsburgh will know more after Freiermuth wakes up in Cincinnati, and the inactive list about 90 minutes before kickoff will give the final answer.

The Bengals have injury questions of their own. Three players who had been listed as doubtful, receiver Andrei Iosivas (thumb), cornerback Jalen Davis (hamstring) and guard Brian Parker II (knee), were not activated from injured reserve and were downgraded to out, Heavy reported, citing a Bengals beat reporter.

Losing Iosivas trims the depth behind Cincinnati's top receivers, and losing a cornerback trims depth in the secondary on a night when every snap will be contested. None of those absences changes the core of either team, but in a first-place game between two even clubs, the margins tend to decide things.

The game carries an extra storyline in the broadcast booth. Mike Tomlin, who stepped away from the Steelers after 19 seasons and joined NBC, is set to cover his former team, Newsweek reported. Tomlin built a reputation in Pittsburgh for steady, no-excuses leadership, and few people understand better how a late injury report can scramble a game plan.

That no-excuses spirit is exactly what the Steelers will need if Freiermuth cannot go. Good teams do not complain about who is missing. They prepare the next man, trust him, and play. Pittsburgh has built its identity for decades on that idea, and Sunday night is a chance to prove it again on the road against a division rival.

Watch Freiermuth's status first. If he is active, the Steelers keep their most reliable red-zone option. If he sits, watch how often Pittsburgh lines up with two tight ends and a fullback, and whether the offense can still finish drives in the end zone instead of settling for field goals.

On the other side, watch whether Cincinnati can exploit the Steelers' interior if Harmon is limited, and whether its depth receivers can step up with Iosivas out.

Two 6-2 teams, a division lead and a national audience. Whoever is healthy enough to suit up, it should be a fitting Sunday night in November.