More duds than studs as Steelers lose to Bengals in embarrassing fashion
After an embarrassing 41-10 road loss by the Pittsburgh Steelers, there was no way the Steel City Underground crew could award game balls. In nearly every facet of the game, Pittsburgh was a mess.
Even with the return of linebacker T.J. Watt, the Pittsburgh Steelers couldn’t muster up anything. There’s no way to slice this in a positive way; nothing worked for the Steelers on Sunday.
That left more duds than studs to mention following the Week 12 fumble of an NFL game.
Minkah Fitzpatrick
Having returned after injury, it was anticipated Fitzpatrick would be a boost to the defensive backfield. He did finish with eight tackles and his first interception of the season (the fifth for the Steelers overall this season).
Unfortunately, Ben Roethlisberger turned the ball back over to the Bengals right away by tossing a pass that looked like it was a stamped delivery to former teammate Mike Hilton.
Cameron Heyward
Heyward recorded eight tackles and a sack, but there were many moments that felt like the only player on defense with any effort was Cam. Although Joe Schobert (11 tackles) and Chris Wormley (4 tackles, 1 sack) helped, the same really couldn’t be said for Watt.
And, Alex Highsmith had this happen:
It’s been that kind of day. pic.twitter.com/cIF9fyI5Ly
— PFF PIT Steelers (@PFF_Steelers) November 28, 2021
Yes, a perfect summary of just how badly the Steelers played.
Pat Freiermuth
The rookie tight end caught four passes for 40 yards, including a touchdown pass (his sixth TD of the season). He leads all Steelers receivers in touchdown catches through 12 weeks of play.
Where was everyone else, you may ask. Diontae Johnson caught nine passes for 95 yards. Chase Claypool caught eight passes for 82 yards. That sounds like pretty decent play until you look at the fact that none of that equated to points on the scoreboard.
Duds
Roethlisberger had a horrible outing. He threw two interceptions, lost two fumbles, and recovered one loose ball. Things looked forced much too often.
Again, the offensive line was often pushed into his face or on top of him, forcing little room in the pocket and under entirely too much pressure.
James Pierre became a complete liability in the defensive backfield as Joe Burrow lit the Steelers up by spreading the ball around to nine targets offensively.
The Steelers defense couldn’t keep Joe Mixon from rushing for 165 yards on 28 carries with two touchdowns to boot. They were porous, overall, unable to get critical stops or prevent key conversions.
Pittsburgh deserved the loss. Their embarrassing play led long-time Steelers beat writer Ed Bouchette to Tweet:
“If the Bengals’ 41-3 lead stands — or grows, which is more likely — it will be the worst loss by the Steelers to Cincinnati by point spread in the series’ 52-year history.”
It got worse… and the Steelers can’t blame the lack of Tyson Alualu, Joe Jaden, or Stephon Tuitt on the active game roster for the humiliation. If they don’t figure things out, the season very well could be a wash.
