After one of the worst losses in recent memory, here are the two winners and four losers from the Steelers’ 24-10 loss to the Bengals.
The Steelers entered this game as favorites, but similar struggles from offense and key injuries on the defense led to similar results from last week. The Bengals had the game well in hand by the third quarter and the team never really got back into the game. Here are the two winners and four losers from the Steelers’ loss to the Bengals.
Steelers loser: Matt Canada
The Steelers’ gameplan week one on offense was decent considering the struggles this team faced. It centered on the quick passing game, attempted the occasional deep pass, and tried to get some creative play calls included. While not perfect, it was enough to get the win. Unfortunately, the offensive game plan has looked identical every week since, minus some of the motion that was used early on.
This week almost looked like an identical offense to last year. It was extremely conservative and despite being down by a lot of points, the play calling never shifted to a more aggressive style. This was never more apparent than when the Steelers were relying on Najee Harris to be their leading receiver.
Moving forward, this offense has to get more creative. While there are severe limitations to what the offense can do with a bad line and a limited quarterback, using more motion and receivers would aid this team. The play calling, while never great, has progressively gotten worse each week. Something has to give, and Canada needs to get more creative in his offense going forward.
Steelers winner: Pat Freiermuth
While the offense as a whole looked bad, one of the lone shining spots for this team has been the rookie tight end, Pat Freiermuth. At this point, there is little questioning if he is the starter, as he has received the majority of starter snaps and has played well in that role. He continued his solid play this week against the Bengals and found a way to score.
His score truly exemplified what kind of a receiver he is, as he took a short shovel pass and muscled his way into the endzone. Freiermuth doesn’t win with amazing athleticism, but he can make the tough catch and get the tough yards. While his 22 yards receiving aren’t anything to write home about, he is quickly becoming a reliable target in this passing offense.
Based on the struggles of the other Steelers’ tight ends (more on that next), it wouldn’t be shocking to see Freiermuth continue to play more snaps. He has shown the most out of any of the other players at the position and could become one of the league’s better tight ends if he develops properly. He had another strong game and has had a great start to the season.
Steelers loser: Eric Ebron
Continuing with last week’s trend, the Steelers saw Freiermuth land on the winner’s list while Eric Ebron finds himself on the losers list. He was targeted more this week than in previous weeks, but he has been about as ineffective as any other player on the team. In this game, he was targeted three times, didn’t catch a pass, and dropped two of his targets.
To say his game was bad is an understatement. Despite having one of the higher contracts on the team, Ebron continues to be a huge disappointment. He contributes nothing as a blocker, but that is to be expected from him given his receiving ability. He has failed to do anything as a receiver though so far this season and is essentially wasting a roster spot right now.
Given his deal expires after this season, it seems like a guarantee that 2021 is it for Ebron with the Steelers. At this rate, the team should really be exploring trade partners for the receiving tight end. While a straight-up cut is a possibility, his contract really makes cutting him pointless from a cap perspective. His 2021 has had a horrible start, and it seems like he is poised to continue his mediocre season as his playing time decreases.
Steelers loser: the Defense
When the Steelers won against the Bills in week one, it was due to the defense playing at an elite level. The pass rush was unstoppable and in turn, the secondary had plenty of help in shutting down the Bills. Against the Raiders last week, the injuries to the defense, specifically at pass rusher, exposed this defense. With the injuries still prevalent this week, the rest of the defense was going to be tasked with playing well despite relying on reserves.
The defense played ok, but they looked like a group that was struggling without their starters. Specifically, with the pass rush, the team failed to regularly get after the quarterback. Melvin Ingram was the only effective pass rusher on the day, but he still failed to get after Joe Burrow. The low-level depth players failed to make an impact. This edge group has to get healthy going into next week.
While the secondary is far from bad, it clearly needs an elite pass rush to be effective. Without it, they are regularly exposed by opposing passing offenses. As well, deep threats at receiver are proving to be this team’s weak spot. Henry Ruggs won deep last week, and Ja’Marr Chase did the same this week. The argument could be made that the only effective aspect of this team is the pass rush, and when it isn’t playing at a top level, this team has little to offer overall.
Steelers winner: Chase Claypool
With all of the injuries on the offense and at receiver, it really came down to Chase Claypool to be the primary target for the Steelers. While he did miss on a few passes, Claypool showed just how effective he can be as a receiver. Last week, the team tried to only throw to him deeply. This week, Claypool flashed the ability to be a top receiver in the league.
While he was still a potent deep threat, he also was effective in the short and intermediate game. He ended up catching nine passes for nearly 100 yards on the day. Not elite, but solid production from all over the field. It feels like this offense is really holding him back right now, as he could thrive in a team that uses him all over the field.
Unfortunately for Claypool, this team isn’t in a position to play to his strengths. While he can continue to do well as an all-around threat, his upside in this league is capped right now. Luckily for the Steelers, he showed his ability to be a dynamic receiver all over the field. He may not be maximizing his potential, but he is at least developing as a threat all over the offense.
Steelers loser: Ben Roethlisberger
Yes, the offensive line has been bad, but Ben Roethlisberger is not playing good football either. While his final stats look almost respectable, his decision-making and placement on passes have been consistently off. As well, he seems far too content to just check the ball down instead of looking deep. No, you can’t fling the ball on every pass, but down by 17 points and your strategy is to dump it off to Harris? That isn’t playing winning football.
It didn’t help that his receivers were also getting injured constantly and that his line, as stated, was ineffective, but Roethlisberger needs to find a way to be more consistent and make the big plays when they can. He had James Washington wide open and deep but just slightly overthrew the pass to him. Had he connected, that easily would have been a score, but instead, it just led to another failed drive.
Add in his two interceptions, the second one of them being an absolutely mind-boggling pass right into Logan Wilson’s arms, and you have a bad day overall. While the offense has plenty of flaws, Roethlisberger isn’t doing enough to make this offense be effective right now. Roethlisberger is partially to blame for holding this offense back, and when the defense isn’t playing at an elite level due to injuries, he does little to inspire the team to win.
This Steelers team did little to inspire any confidence after suffering a tough loss last week. This team has one strong suit right now, their pass rush, and considering the injuries suffered there, it seems unlikely this team improves much there. While there were some bright moments for the winners, the team as a whole showed little to be excited about moving forward.