We’ll be releasing an in-depth review of the Steelers victory over the Bengals later, but here are some quick thoughts and yinzing  immediately following the game.

Offense

Ben had a rough day, I’m sure we can all agree on that. He made plenty of vintage Ben throws, but his chemistry with Antonio Brown wasn’t at 100% and his deep balls were fairly inconsistent. Ben didn’t play his best game, but he led this team to a win, that’s what counts.

DeAngelo Willliams was the best part of the offense. Williams was consistent as a runner and catcher all day and carried this offense. At 33 years old, he also had a career high number of carries with 32.

This game did a good job giving us clarity to what Coates’ role will be with the team: deep threat. He caught 2 balls for 97 yards. He may not have caught everything that came his way, but Coates made some nice grabs. I do think it’s too early though to start saying “Martavis who??????”

Jesse James is starting to emerge as a receiving threat. He caught a really nice sideline grab early on, then later caught a touchdown that was throwing above the entire defense. His blocking needs work, but James has proven to be a solid player so far.

I can’t ignore the rest of the tight ends. Both Xavier Grimble and David Johnson were heavily involved with the offense today, likely due to the rainy weather. Grimble caught a very impressive touchdown, while Johnson was a solid blocker. I never expected them to both be so heavily involved with this offense.

Defense

I really hope Bud Dupree is ready to play once he’s off the PUP list. The Steelers failed to consistently generate a pass rush today which led to our secondary being picked apart at times. Kieth Butler needs to figure out how to start getting to the quarterback.

The Steelers run defense is still stout though.  They managed to hold the Bengals to 46 yards rushing, which is very impressive.

The defense had its fair share of missed opportunities today. Jarvis Jones dropped an easy pick that hit him in the chest and Ross Cockrell almost got a diving pick. The Steelers had a great turnover rate last year and hopefully they improve in this area soon. Missed tackles also remain an issue.

Shazier continues to be a playmaker. He can always be seen flying around the field and making the plays. Thankfully he finished the game without any injuries, so we won’t have to worry about him playing next week.

Mike Mitchell and Robert Golden are a great, underrated duo. Golden had a huge play where he pushed Uzomah out of the endzone upon catching the ball, while Mitchell was laying down the hammer all afternoon. .

Artie Burns had an up and down day. He had a huge pass break up early on, but later missed a tackle and allowed Giovanni Bernard to score a touchdown. I’m happy at least that Burns’ has been able to flash talent and get reps – growing pains and rookie mistakes were expected.

Final Thoughts

It certainly wasn’t the prettiest performance from the Steelers, but AFC North match-ups are always gritty. It was a rainy day, full of questionable officiating, but the Steelers came away with the W.

I’m happy with what we’ve seen from the Steelers so far. Their offense has been dynamic despite missing Le’Veon Bell, Markus Wheaton, and Ladarius Green. It’s pretty crazy thinking about how much better this offense could be.

The defense wasn’t flashy, but the stat line is very impressive: 16 points allowed, AJ Green had 38 yards, and a 3rd down conversion rate of 4/16. Truly a “bend but don’t break” unit.

Big shout-out to Jordan Berry as well. He did a great job pinning the Bengals in their own territory all day. Steel City Underground is the leader of the Jordan Berry fan club.

The game ended with a very questionable fumble, but I’ll never argue with a Steelers win! The arrow is pointed up for the team and I can’t wait to see what else they can do this year.