Behind the Steel Curtain
Just four days after their best win of the season, the Steelers suffered their worst loss yet, falling to the Cincinnati Bengals on the road Thursday night. As always, there are plenty of takeaways to be had:
If you still had a bone to pick with the Steeler defense after they’ve steadily trended up over the last few weeks, Thursday night’s loss was a great piece of evidence for the case.
It also calls for some hindsight when considering the team’s wins so far: the Dillon Gabriel-led Browns, Carson Wentz-led Vikings, Drake Maye-led Patriots, and Justin Fields-led Jets.
With the exception of Maye, it’s not exactly a group of the NFL’s best passers.
The Pittsburgh defense has capitalized this year, as they have in recent history, on splash plays more than pure fundamentals. And when they faced a veteran quarterback who didn’t fall victim to the Steelers’ usual bag of tricks, they couldn’t find an answer.
I’m far from the first person to point it out, but Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin’s uncharacteristic press conference quotes around his confusion on the Browns’ willingness to trade Joe Flacco to the rival Bengals seemed almost prophetic following Thursday’s loss. The former longtime Raven Flacco knows how to play and beat a Steelers defense, and Tomlin knew it.
While having Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins as his wide receiver duo certainly helped — especially against man coverage — Flacco put on a clinic against the Steelers’ aggressive front and cover-3-heavy secondary, spamming short throws to beat the pressure along with a variety of curls, outs, and slants that exposed gaping holes in the coverage.
The Steelers couldn’t adjust, and the now-veteran journeyman finished the game with 342 passing yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. It was a bloodbath when the Bengals had the ball.
Every team is allowed a sloppy, brutal loss from time to time. That’s part of why the NFL is so wide open this year. But the Steelers found a way to make it extra painful. They blew a 10-point lead to a struggling team down two of its best three players in Joe Burrow and Trey Hendrickson. They looked tired and unprepared despite being just two games off the bye week.
But most inexcusable was the defensive collapse. Why? Because they already had their letdown games to open the season. They were back on the right track but instead regressed against an offense that has been nowhere near as good this season as Pittsburgh made them look Thursday night. The Bengals entered the game averaging a mere 56.7 rushing yards, 178.5 passing yards, and 17.2 points per game — they left Thursday’s game with 142, 328, and 33 in each respective category.
Yeah, it was that ugly. When the unit that was supposed to be the Steelers’ greatest strength falls apart that badly yet again, it remains difficult to take the Steelers seriously as the Super Bowl contender they’re...
