3 takeaways from the Steelers poor performance against Bengals

The Steelers put on another depressing performance this week, this time against a division rival.

If you watched all 60 minutes of the Steelers game, you are probably thinking that everything and mostly everyone was bad, and you would be right. The team managed just 10 points during an important game and showed the real troubles of the team, those troubles including coaching.

Let’s take a look at 3 things that stuck out to me and maybe others watching from Heinz Field.

1. Matt Canada’s offense is not working

Throughout the offseason fans were getting excited because there was talk about a new offense, a run-first offense, a type of offense that the Steelers are known for and have had success for many years because of that offense. It seemed like everything was coming together when the Steelers picked Najee Harris, Kendrick Green, Pat Freiermuth, and Dan Moore Jr. in the recent draft class, as well as signing Trai Turner at a later date. The thought was is that it would help Ben not have to rush his throws and restore balance into the offense, but that is not the case so far.

Against the Bengals, Ben threw the ball 58 times, something that happened over and over last year. Obviously, the production of the offense is a two-way street between the players and coaches, but when the Steelers face third and long or get a drive going, it seems like Randy Fichtner is back and calling plays.

The offense seems to be like Randy Fichtner’s but with more movement and tighter formations, there are many short plays called on a final down and a long-distance as well as weird calls that throw the momentum off of the drive. The team faced nineteen 3rd downs and only converted 9 of them, the offense is a mess early on and I haven’t seen anything sticking out that wasn’t seen last year.

However, there is an explanation for this. The offensive line is not well as we can all see and so far Ben Roethlisberger is hurt and having trouble connecting with the deep ball, his most notable trait. With all of that aside, there have still been some questionable play calls with a talented group of weapons that can easily carry a team.