The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of Steelers Refreshing Week 16 win over Bengals
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The Bad: Eric Rowe's Poor Pursuit Angles
Eric Rowe had a solid game for having just come off the practice squad. The veteran safety was serviceable throughout the contest and even came up with an interception. Truthfully, it was kind of cool to see a No. 25 roaming the defensive backfield again.
That said, Rowe had some moments where it was clear that he had lost a step and that his place on an NFL practice squad makes sense at this stage in his career. In large part, his pursuit angles were not good for most of the game, and it cost the Steelers's defense a few times.
The most egregious error resulted in an 80-yard touchdown for Tee Higgins in the third quarter.
HIGGINS HOUSE CALL. 80 YARDS ‼️
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Rowe is the last line of defense on this play and takes a tough angle at Higgins. He isn't able to recover and just misses sweeping the leg to save the play.
To be fair to Rowe, it's tough to find much to complain about after a game like this one. He had a great game overall given the circumstances and just so happened to be largely responsible for the Bengals's biggest play offensively.
If Minkah Fitzpatrick and Trenton Thompson are able to return next week, they'd certainly be welcome returns, but if not the Steelers should still feel somewhat comfortable with Rowe if he has to be called upon further.