With the Pittsburgh Steelers hosting a home game in Week 18 with playoff seeding on the line, fans thought this team would have come firing out of the gate. The Steelers were on a three-game losing streak after getting embarrassed by the Eagles, Ravens, and Chiefs, but their struggles continued early against the Bengals.
Russell Wilson and the offense couldn't sustain a drive and Pittsburgh soon found themselves in a 10-0 hole early in the game. At one point early in the contest, the Bengals had 110 yards of offense compared to -6 for the Steelers.
Thankfully, a splash interception from Beanie Bishop just before the half saved points with Joe Burrow and the Bengals in the red zone. But that's when the Steelers' egregious decision-making gave the ball right back to Cincinnati.
With under a minute remaining in the first half, the Steelers trailed 10-7 and were looking for a spark. Mike Tomlin decided to get aggressive and let Wilson sling the football in an effort to get into field goal range.
After Pat Freiermuth came up short of the sticks on third down, the Steelers ran a quarterback sneak with Wilson on third and a half-yard, but it came up short. That's when Tomlin elected to go for it on fourth down on his side of the field.
Instead of running another QB sneak to get the inches Pittsburgh needed to move the chains, Arthur Smith called a running play for Jaylen Warren. Unfortunately, a Bengals rusher got in the backfield free and bottled Warren up before he could get back to the line of scrimmage—resulting in a turnover on downs for the Steelers.
This gutsy decision gifted the Bengals back just before the half and it only took a few plays for Burrow to get his offense in field goal range. The Bengals came away with three points before entering the tunnel. This could have been even worse had All-Pro wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase not let a perfect pass slip through his hands in the red zone.
Steelers continue to get aggressive at the wrong time
I don't know why it is, but it always feels like Mike Tomlin picks the worst possible time to get aggressive. After Bishop saved points for Pittsburgh, Tomlin's aggressiveness gave it right back when the Steelers turned the ball over on downs.
Given their offensive struggles, Tomlin should have been overjoyed to enter the half down by just three points. Instead, the misplaced aggressiveness ended up resulting in points for the Bengals.
The Steelers need to find a way to get things going and build momentum before the playoffs. This has been hard to watch, and witnessing egregious coaching decisions that have a significant impact on the game isn't making it any easier.