The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Bengals 27-3 on Monday Night Football in week 4. Here are my takeaways from the game.
After three gut-wrenching performances to start 2019, the Steelers finally turned things around in a big way during week 4. Though Pittsburgh was just 3.5-4 point favorites entering the game, the Steelers blew the socks off the Bengals on Monday Night Football.
It was an inspiring performance for a team in desperate need of a win. Pittsburgh advances to 1-3 on the season, but they are still a long way from being considered a contender in the AFC.
I was delighted with the overall result in this one, but if I am to nitpick, there are still things the Steelers need to be working on. Here are my takeaways from the game:
Randy Fichtner can adjust his offense
Whatever Randy Fichtner has been doing before week four just wasn’t working for the Steelers. He called an ultra-conservative game last week in an effort to try to protect his young quarterback in his first NFL start. However, that backfired on him as the Steelers failed to move the ball against the 49ers.
To the surprise of many, however, Fichter was able to alter his game – so much so that I was a bit shocked. Though he still made a visible effort to protect Mason Rudolph from taking unnecessary hits or risks down the field, Fichtner designed an offense that kept the Bengals on their toes. He even sprinkled in some Wildcat plays and made Jaylen Samuels look like the 2008 version of Ronnie Brown.
It was inspired to see the adjustments Randy Fichtner was willing to make to help his young quarterback improve. Let’s hope he continues to adjust as needed.