4 things we learned from Steelers victory over Bengals

The Steelers bested the Cincinnati Bengals on the road on Sunday. Here are four things we learned from Pittsburgh’s 16-10 victory in Week 12.

The Steelers may have defeated perhaps the NFL’s worst team on Sunday, but it wasn’t easy. The Cincinnati Bengals were the only winless team entering Week 12, and that almost changed on Sunday.

Fortunately, Pittsburgh was able to pull off the win. There are both positives and negatives to note from this game, and the Steelers still have a lot of work today as they prepare to face the Cleveland Browns this weekend.

Here are four things we learned from Pittsburgh’s 16-10 victory over the Bengals this week:

Mason Rudolph is not the answer

I’m sorry to burst the bubble of any fans out there, but Mason Rudolph has proven once again that he can’t step up to the challenge for Pittsburgh. After suffering through the worst game of his career against the Brown last week that included 4 interceptions and a late-game fight, Rudolph desperately needed a bounce-back performance.

Unfortunately, he did not prove us wrong. The second-year quarterback threw for just 85 yards on 16 attempts with an interception. He led Pittsburgh to just 3 points in two-quarters of play against the NFL’s worst defense before being benched.

Devlin Hodges may have a mini ‘it’ factor

I’m certainly not about to label Devlin Hodges as the next big thing, but he seems to impress every time he steps on the football field. The undrafted rookie is always cool, calm, and collected when his name is called and he helped lead the Steelers to a comeback victory on the road.

Hodges doesn’t have the desired size and tools most look for in a starting quarterback, and he still has a long way to go to prove himself to this organization. However, there seems to be a miniature ‘it’ factor to him that I just can’t put my finger on.

Mike Tomlin is open to adjustments

Mike Tomlin admitted to having a first-round pick on Mason Rudolph coming out of the 2018 NFL Draft, so it was surprising for many fans to see the established head coach humble himself to know when a change is needed.

Rudolph is still a very young player who has a lot of growing to do, but Mike Tomlin recognized that he wasn’t getting the job done, and he did something about it. I don’t always agree with Tomlin, but I respect the decision he made mid-game to switch quarterbacks, and it panned out for Pittsburgh.

The defense continues to dominate

It wasn’t a surprise to see the Steelers defense do so well against the Cincinnati Bengals, but their performance solidifies what we already know: This defensive unit is legitimate.

Pittsburgh seems to have stars on every level of the field, and T.J. Watt is quickly becoming a strong candidate for Defensive Player of the Year in 2019. They will have a more daunting task next week against the Browns, but this defense will be up to the challenge.

The Steelers have a lot of work to do to prepare for this weekend and a big decision to make a quarterback. This game against the Bengals may have been enough to persuade Pittsburgh to roll with the hot hand at quarterback for the immediate future.