Steelers get embarrassed by Bengals in blowout loss in Week 3

The Pittsburgh Steelers looked atrocious against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 3. Here’s why fans are starting to lose hope in this team.

It’s hard to find the words to say after a loss like this. Though the Steelers tried to mount a comeback late in the fourth quarter, it was their dismal offensive play that helped the Bengals run away with this one. Eventually, Cincinnati held on to win easily, 24-10.

This game didn’t seem close from the start. The Bengals scored first with a touchdown in the first quarter and eventually went into halftime with a 14-7 lead over Pittsburgh.

The first half did not go as planned for the Steelers. Offensively, Pittsburgh was completely out of sync. Apart from one touchdown drive that chewed up over eight minutes, Ben Roethlisberger couldn’t get anything going and failed to connect with his receivers down the field.

Defensively, Keith Butler’s defense was clearly missing some of their top players – specifically All-Pro pass rusher, T.J. Watt. Without quick four-man pressure against a susceptible Bengals offensive line. Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase picked on Steelers cornerbacks down the field.

This was an awful game from the start and one that was hard to stomach. However, the most concerning note from this contest was the cringe-worthy play of Roethlisberger.

Is Ben Roethlisberger the biggest problem with the Steelers?

Pittsburgh’s offensive line had another pathetic performance in this contest. But even with their struggles, the Steelers would have had a chance to make much more with their opportunities if it wasn’t for the abysmal play of Ben Roethlisberger.

Big Ben threw two interceptions in this one and blew every opportunity to bring his team back into contention in the second half. By the end of the game, Big Ben had salvaged some of his embarrassing statistics with 318 passing yards; however, his 5.5 yards per attempt, 2 interceptions, 4 sacks taken, and 70.9 passer rating somehow didn’t even tell the whole story. He was awful.

Roethlisberger was so bad that Steelers fans were taking to Twitter asking for the team to bring in Mason Rudolph in this contest. So where do the Steelers go from here?

Obviously, the Steelers are selling out for an opportunity at a Super Bowl run this season, but those aspirations are quickly going by the wayside. If Ben Roethlisberger doesn’t pick up his play very soon, it’s going to be incredibly difficult for the Steelers to even squeak into the playoffs this year. Losing their second-straight game at Heinz Field is very discouraging. Let’s hope for better results moving forward.