4 takeaways from Steelers ugly loss to the Bengals in Week 3
By Tommy Jaggi
The Pittsburgh Steelers were humiliated by the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 3. Here are three things we learned from their ugly loss.
Well, that was painful. After surprisingly besting the Buffalo Bills in Week 1 on the road, the Pittsburgh Steelers have since dropped two straight games at Heinz Field. This week, their loss came at the hands of a Joe Burrow-led Cincinnati Bengals team. And the final results were not encouraging.
Though the Bengals were widely regarded as the worst team in the AFC North prior to this Week 3 matchup, they stuck it to the Steelers on Sunday afternoon. The defense had somewhat of an excuse, as it was missing four starters along the defensive line (including All-Pro T.J. Watt). However, the offense is what really killed us in this game.
This showing was hard to stomach and the game was never as close as the score would indicate. Here are my four takeaways from Pittsburgh’s ugly Week 3 loss to their divisional opponent:
1. Steelers offense has yet to get it all together
If you watched the game, this goes without saying. For those of you who were fortunate enough to have prior engagements this week, you didn’t miss anything. This contest was incredibly difficult to stomach thanks to dismal offensive play by Ben Roethlisberger and company.
Whether on the ground or through the air, Pittsburgh could get nothing going in this contest. The offensive line was quick to cave and running back Najee Harris was able to muster up a mere 2.9 yards per carry on the ground on 14 rush attempts, via ESPN. However, as bad as the run game was, the passing game somehow managed to be worse.
Big Ben made almost no plays down the field in this contest and most of his passes seemed to be simple check-downs underneath (probably the reason why Najee Harris was able to have as many receptions as carries in this one). Unfortunately, that doesn’t make for a successful offense, and no part of me felt like Pittsburgh was capable of mounting a comeback. This offense has still yet to get it all together.