Steelers vs. Bengals: Winners and losers from blowout loss

It was an abysmal Sunday for the Steelers. Here are their winners and losers from their miserable loss to the Bengals in Week 12.

The Steelers wanted revenge in Week 12 after losing to the Bengals earlier this year, but it wasn’t so. The Bengals came out and dominated the team in every facet of the game en route to the blowout loss. There weren’t a lot of positives this week and the losers list is a full one. Here are the winners and losers from the Steelers vs. the Bengals in Week 12.

Steelers loser: James Pierre

There was legitimate hope that James Pierre would perform well this week against the Bengals after being burned by them earlier in the year. Him being matched up against Tee Higgins was a good setup as well, as Higgins is more of a physical receiver than a pure deep threat. It wasn’t his week to get redemption though, as he was burned regularly by the Bengals.

He gave up numerous plays in coverage all game, and there wasn’t a standout play that he could fall back on to try and save his performance. Even his tackling, something that had been a strong suit for the second-year corner, wasn’t very good this week. His coverage was absolutely miserable though, and he was a huge reason the Bengals moved the ball so well in the air.

The worst play was easily the touchdown he gave up to Higgins. He had him beat vertically, was in a position to contest the catch, and had the size to match up against Higgins but he was soundly beat instead of breaking up the pass. It was a pathetic play and one that should have led to him going to the bench. It was a bad day for the second-year corner, and he was just one reason this defense utterly failed this week.