The Steelers played one of their worst games in over 30 years and were completely dismantled by the AFC North rival Bengals.
The Steelers were decimated in every facet of the game. “We stunk it up today,” summarized Coach Tomlin and that basically tells the story of yesterday’s game. I can’t remember a worst Steelers loss where they were so thoroughly dominated in EVERY facet of the game within the last 30 years.
The defense is an absolute wreck right now. Cam Heyward got pushed into the Nose spot and clearly it didn’t help, he has gotten very little help from his teammates on the line and the Bengals demolished the Steelers up front. Devin Bush’s descent into irrelevance continued and he was replaced by Robert Spillane, until Spillane was injured. Joe Mixon rushed for 165 yards and was nearly unstoppable. He had almost 100 yards rushing before the half.
Minkah Fitzpatrick had a solid game, but he was the lone highlight in the secondary. His first interception of the season was squandered. James Pierre had no answers for Tee Higgins and he scorched the secondary for 114 yards. Cam Sutton struggled with tackling.
Ben Roethlisberger had a tough game against the Bengals coughing up the ball three times including two interceptions that led to 10 points, a pick six to Mike Hilton that was basically the backbreaker. Roethlisberger also fumbled twice losing one. He has played well these last five weeks, yesterday that came crashing down. The offensive line is terrible and it is showing more and more, that a change needs to happen. Najee Harris was a non-factor for the second week in a row.
The special teams had an uneven performance, coverage units were mediocre. No Ray-Ray McCloud led to Anthony McFarland returning kicks and he did okay, given the circumstances. Pressley Harvin III had another tough game, netting only 34.6 yards per attempt. He never capitalized. Chris Boswell his his only field goal attempt.
What else can you say, the Steelers were never really in the game, and they looked unprepared. This loss isn’t terminal, and a win next week gets the Steelers right back in it, but something has to change. That is on the coaching staff.
BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!
My “GAME BEER” goes to: NO ONE, this was the worst Steelers game I have seen in 30+ years. Only person I would consider is Cam Heyward who deserves a lot better than this.
Beer of the Game: Iron City Original. Always a great beer and I was hoping it would break the streak.
“Steel the Snacks”: We helped my father decorate for Christmas, so we had homemade turkey soup. That was the only highlight of the day.
My Stat of the week: The 31-point margin of defeat was the biggest defeat in the Tomlin era, and it tied second most in team history, also a 41-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in 1989. It also stands as tied for the second-worst loss in team history, the worst being a 51-0 loss to the Cleveland Browns in 1989.
My Thoughts on next week: RAVENS WEEK, The Steelers over the last few weeks have shown they don’t have an answer for the run. The Ravens are the worst team that could happen against as they just absolutely pound the football. Not sure how this version of the Steelers could stop them.
This week’s Jersey: T.J. Watt, 90, Home Black, I wore it hoping to bring some luck…not so much.