Film Room: What We Learned from the Loss to the Bengals

Losses to Cincinnati just hit different. As much as we may want to drink this one away – my Steelers loss pick-me-up of choice is a vanilla milkshake with rainbow sprinkles – it’s not “on to Green Bay” yet. It’s our duty to drink in the loss, learn what we can from it, and then we can forget about it and start thinking about the Packers. So, let’s take a deep breath and get right to it.

Tyler Boyd TD catch-and-run

On WR Tyler Boyd’s TD catch, Devin Bush was in coverage. Boyd created separation with an inside-out move to get the first down. Bush saw Ingram coming from the other side, ready to lay a lick on Boyd, and Bush pulled out of the play. Boyd, however, absorbed Ingram’s shoulder tackle, changed direction and was able to get vertical and dive into the end zone. Minkah was also in the neighborhood:

Hard to believe, isn’t it?

During this week of preparation, Mike Tomlin and company were frequently asked about the ineffectiveness of the running game to date. Specifically, Derek Watt’s name was mentioned as a possible catalyst for success in the ground game. Here the Steelers’ OLine handles the Bengals’ DLine, but LB Logan Wilson was still free. Watt led the way and took a nasty hit, but the extra guy was able to buy Harris 4 yards where there were none:

Current Bengal and former Steeler CB Mike Milton had a “classy” return to the city that made him a millionaire.

Though he was demonstrative in celebration, he was burned more than a few times. On consecutive plays here he allows a catch to Claypool underneath and then was SEVERELY offside to draw a flag (unfortunately the play was whistled dead):

Two straight – plays for Mike Hilton

Chase Claypool was flagged twice in this game for offensive pass interference. This first one speaks for itself:

The Bengals aren’t the Bungles of yore. They’re not even “those guys get paid to play too” guys; they’ve got some legit talent on both sides of the ball. They have over $150 million invested in their defensive line, and that’s where they’ve gotten a lot of their production. Like this QBH by DE Sam Hubbard:

***ARTHUR MAULET TFL*** Maulet takes on the pulling RG, sheds the block and gets to Mixon. Mike Hilton who?

This was another sack by a big beefy Bengal: DT BJ Hill:. I’m not sure what Ben was trying to do here, but at the bottom of the screen to his left he had TE Pat Freiermuth calling for the ball, and he chose to take off to scramble right. I will say Najee needs to know his job is to run towards the QB in a scramble drill, not away from him:

At least the OLine was helping him up after he got knocked down this week (kudos to Alex Kazora at Steelers Depot for breaking that story).

Najee totaled only 40 yards of rushing on the day, but 20 of them came in this single scamper. Their most successful run of the day came out of a spread, 3-WR set, but you better believe there will be more questions about heavy packages and Derek Watt this week:

Najee Harris’s 20-yard run

Harris had another nice catch-and-run here, but look at Claypool at the top of the screen here. I feel like Hines Ward wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to stick his nose in and make a tough block to help his guy bend the edge into the endzone:

Claypool took a pretty good lick from CB Eli Apple here. It came close to the head/neck area with very forcible contact on a defenseless receiver, but I like the no-call here. As long as my guy gets up, I’m not afraid of physical football.

The good news is there are reinforcements coming. TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith both sat out this game and the rotational pass rushers were DE Chris Wormley and a free agent OLB Derek Tuszka, behind Ingram and OLB Jamir Jones. The Steelers are going to improve at that position.

That missed tackled on Tyler Boys must have been bugging Minkah; look at him return the favor:

Here’s Ben’s second INT. He tries to force it into a tight window between two Bengals to Juju. But he doesn’t account for Logan Wilson dropping into coverage. Wilson has all three of Cincinnati’s interceptions on the season; he is to that team what MLB Joe Schobert was supposed to be to this team. Anyway, Ben had Najee open at the bottom of your screen, he had Derek Watt open at the top of your screen, but he forced it over the middle to his third down safety valve:

This incompletion to Claypool should have been a TD. Chase beat his man with a double move and the whole middle of the field was wide open, but Ben’s throw sailed to the outside and Claypool was visibly frustrated. For the second week in a row he misses an easy TD opportunity because of Ben’s ball placement:

Into the fourth quarter now. Another – against Mike Hilton here, getting beat one-on-one by WR Ray Ray McCloud on a deep fade:

You’ll see Claypool and McCloud at the bottom of your screen. Chase was a little too aggressive with the blocking and picked up his second OPI penalty of the day, but McCloud was also manhandled by his face mask on the play. There should have been offsetting penalties, replay the down:

The fans didn’t care for the Steelers’ decision to kick a field goal on 4th down after they had driven 88 yards on 18 plays. There was an uncomfortable moment between Ben and his coach after he came off the field:

Minkah had an assist on Edmunds’ INT earlier, and CB Jame Pierre almost paid him back here. Pierre reaches in to knock the pass away, and Minkah nearly scooped the tipped ball for what would have been a huge momentum shift:

This alarmed me at first; I thought I was looking at #93 MLB Joe Schobert split up wide covering a wide-out. Upon further review it was Joe Mixon, but still alarming to see a guy with a number in the 90’s covering on the outside:

Another instance of Claypool slacking in the blocking game. I’ve loved the player ever since he was drafter, but I wish I had seen more from his off-ball play today. I realize he was dealing with cramps intermittently, but if you’re too hurt to block you probably shouldn’t be on the field at all.

I won’t make you watch the infamous 4th & 10, but this is the 3rd & 10 that set it up. This throw to Ebron at the goal line isn’t technically a drop; it appears S Von Bell got a finger in there to tip it ever so slightly, but Ben was clearly frustrated afterwards:

The Steelers ended the game with three consecutive drops. Tyler Boyd said after the game that the Steelers players quit on Mike Tomlin, and I have a hard time disagreeing. Take a look and see what you think:

Well, it mostly wasn’t pretty. There were some diamonds in the rough, but a ton of room to improve. The protection needs to get better – both for Ben and the running game. Most of all this team needs to get healthy. Look for a post later this week when the first injury report is released.

Steelers Lose Second Straight Home Game, Fall to Bengals 24-10

Mounting injuries, a predictable offense and some missed shots spelled doom for the Steelers today.

It was another three-and-out for the Steelers to open the game, although first down featured a successful running play to RB Najee Harris. Fortunately, the Bengals followed suit and punted the ball right back.

The Steelers second drive also featured a couple nice plays to Najee; you won’t find them in the box score though because they were negated by penalties. Officially it goes down as another three-and-out. P Presley Harvin’s second punt reads 50 yards gross, 57 yard net in the box score, but it was a severely short punt the returner let bounce a couples times before picking it up. Not nearly as pretty as it sounds.

The fans at Heinz had reason to celebrate when Bengals QB Joe Burrow threw his fourth interception in the last two games. He overthrew WR Tyler Boyd and FS Minkah Fitzpatrick wasn’t able to bring it in but he tipped it to SS Terrell Edmunds for an easy INT. Unfortunately, after an unsuccessful run to Harris and a drop by TE Eric Ebron, Ben took a hit from DE Sam Hubbard while throwing on third down and a lame duck fell into the arms of LB Logan Wilson.

Terrell Edmunds fourth career INT is the first for the Steelers this year. Photo: Karl Roser/Pittsburgh Steelers

FB Arthur Maulett had a TFL in run support and CB Cam Sutton had a strong, physical tackle on the sideline against Boyd, but the next play Boyd absorbed a shoulder tackled from OLB Melvin Ingram, changed direction and was able to dive across the goal line for the game’s first points. 7-0 CIN

Cincinnati’s defense kept the heat on the Steelers on their next drive. They got to QB Ben Roethlisberger on first down for a sack, and had heavy penetration in the backfield on a pitch out for Harris on second down, but Najee was able to machete through the rough for a 4-yard gain. Ben drew Bengals CB Mike Hilton offsides trying to get a jump on the snap count, and on third down on the scramble Ben freezed the rush with a pump fake long enough to get around him for the first down. The drive stalled there on a third down pass to WR Chase Claypool that he never saw coming, and Harvin was called on to punt again.

Cincinnati RB Joe Mixon ripped off 27 yards on first down, but then the defense stiffened. DE Cam Heyward and MLB Devin Bush held the edge on a run play, then Edmunds and Maulett got the credit for a TFL for being the first two of four guys to get to the ball carrier. Burrow tried to escape the pocket on third down, but MLB Joe Schobert tripped him up at the line of scrimmage to force a punt.

Finally the Steelers offense was able to click and Ben pieced together a 15-play, 86-yard drive. Najee used the stiff arm to break screens for 7 and 18 yards, and sandwiched in there he found a crack for a 20-yard run. Claypool took a screen for 12 yards, WR Juju Smith-Schuster had a nice RAC for 16, and FB Derek Watt had a three-yard catch on an awkward shovel pass over the middle. Three plays later, Ben busted out that shovel pass again to TE Pat Freiermuth who took it into the end zone from four yards out to tie the score, 7-7.

The Bengals’ next drive was helped out by a ticky-tacky roughing the passer call on Ingram. Take a look and judge for yourself:

By the letter of the law, Ingram probably shouldn’t have gone high on Burrow. But it wasn’t a forcible blow, and he let up at the end to cushion Burrow’s fall, and even caught the QB to prevent undue injury. After the penalty, WR Mike Thomas flattened his post route and Burrow split the zones with his throw; both guys made a great adjustment and the play went for 19 yards. The next snap, Wr Ja’Marr Chase was running with CB James Pierre in single coverage. Pierre was able to angle the speedster to the sideline, but Chase got around the edge with a late burst and reeled in a finger-tip catch for a TD. 14-7 CIN

Ben threw two incompletions – the second of which could have easily went the other way – and Najee ran it on third down for 2 yards. Cincinnati called a timeout with :21 left in the half and the Steelers punted it back. Burrow tried to take a shot, but after Heyward was held on first down they decided to take a knee and take it to the locker room. HALFTIME SCORE: 14-7 CIN

The Bengals got the ball to start the second half, and each of their first three plays went for over 10 yards. After that the defense settled down a bit: newest Steeler OLB Derek Tuszka had a nice shoestring tackle on Mixon , and a couple plays later drew a holding penalty to help his team’s cause. That set up a second-and-long pass to Boyd, which Minkah broke strongly and tackled strongly for a short gain. After a third down drop, Cincinnati settled for a 43-yard FG. 17-7 CIN

The Steelers next drive featured McCloud on offense, which can only be bad news for other Steelers WR’s. Ben threw short for Harris on first down and couldn’t find him on a screen on second down. On third down he was looking over the middle for Juju, thought he was splitting double coverage, but he didn’t see the third defender underneath. That third guy was Logan Wilson, and he pulled in his second INT of the contest (this may have been Juju’s last snap of the day, as he left with a rib injury).

On first down, Ingram and Heyward were stout in run defense. On second down Burrow got free on a designed run to move the chains, but as it turns out they didn’t need the extra downs. The next play Chase beat Haden coming across the end zone for his second TD of the day. 24-7 CIN

The Steelers knew they needed to get something going, and they got off to a promising start finding Freiermuth for 15. Then Najee took a check down, broke a tackle at the LOS and rumbled for 21 yards, and 15 more were tacked on to the end due to a roughing the passer penalty on Cincinnati’s Trey Hendrickson for dealing Ben a blow to the back of the helmet. After three incomplete passes (Harris was looking upfield before securing the catch, good coverage corralled Freiermuth on second down, and Claypool beat his guy with a double move on third down but Ben threw to the wrong shoulder) Chris Boswell came out for a 42-yard FG. The kick had plenty of distance but Boswell pulled it just right and the Steelers came away with nothing to show for the effort.

Pittsburgh‘s defense did their job when they were up against the wall: the Bengals last three offensive drives totaled 21 yards and zero first downs. On the offensive side, the Steelers strung together 18 plays for 88 yards – including a nice chunk catch to McCloud down the left sideline for 24 – but they stalled in the red zone and settle for a 26-yard FG. 24-10 CIN

After the Bengals three-and-out, the Steelers stitched together 12 more plays and moved 73 yards, including gashes of 17 and 29 yards to Claypool and an 11-yard catch by Cody White on third and 10. Ebron dropped two passes on the drive (the first play, and a third down pass at the goal line), and on fourth down the Bengals bluffed a blitz before dropping everybody to swarm on Harris for a one yard loss and a turnover-on-downs.

The defense forced another three-and-out, but it was too little, too late for the Steelers. After a first down completion to Najee, three straight passes were dropped (Harris, Claypool, and Harris again) for another turnover-on downs. Burrow came back out for the victory formation. FINAL: 24-10 CIN

In the postgame press conference, Mike Tomlin noted three more starters were lost during this game. RT Chuks Okorafor was concussed in the game and will have to pass protocol before being cleared to participate in team activities. Juju had an aforementioned rib injury; I believe he played one snap in the second half and did not return. C Kendrick Green was lost in the penultimate drive to a knee injury and was replaced by C J.C. Hassenauer who saw starting time there last year in Maurkice Pouncey’s suspension.

Week 3 Preview: vs. Cincinnati Bengals

There will be some familiar faces wearing new colors, so lets get you caught up on what to expect when the Cincinnati Bengals come to Heinz Field this Sunday at 1 p.m.

The biggest strength of this Bengals team is an expensive defensive line: they have $150 million invested in DT DJ Reader and DE’s Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard. That position unit, along with DT’s Larry Ogunjobi and BJ Hill, has recorded all 6 of Cincinnati’s sacks and 7 of their 12 TFLs this year; safe to say they’re earning every cent of those paychecks.

Ogunjobi – who Steelers fans will remember as Miles Garrett’s accomplice in the infamous Helmet Swinging Incident – has been limited so far in practice this week. He looks questionable to appear in this game with a – you’ll never guess this one – groin injury. UPDATE: Ogunjobi practiced fully on Friday and was not given a game designation, so he will suit up on Sunday.

On the back end, the tandem of FS Jessie Bates III and SS Vonn Bell is one of the better units in football. They have 14 and 13 tackles (respectively); MLB Logan Wilson (16) is the only Bengal with more tackles. Prototypically, Bates and Bell are very similar to the Steelers’ starting safeties: Bell can usually be found clogging up the box and Bates is the deep center fielder.

Slot CB Mike Hilton is another of the familiar faces returning this week. The former Steeler nickelback signed a 4-year, $24 million contract with Cincinnati this off-season, and he’s brought a fresh air of accountability to a Bengals secondary (so long, Pac-Man Jones). Look for Hilton wearing #21 coming after Big Ben off the edge.

Cincinnati’s defense held Dalvin Cook to 61 yards on 20 totes in the week one matchup. In week two, they contained Bears’ RB David Montgomery for – you’ll never guess this one, either – 61 yards on 20 carries. This week might not be Najee’s coming out party as a RB, but the Steelers will move him around and try to get him the ball in space so he can make plays like this one against the Lions in the preseason:

Steelers rookie RB Najee Harris with a stiff arm and head fake for 46 yards.

As solid as their defensive front is, the Bengals’ offensive line falls on the opposite side of that coin. They’ve surrendered 10 sacks and 16 QB hits in the first two games, and need to do a better job of protecting sophomore QB Joe Burrow. He threw three interceptions on three consecutive pass attempts last week in a loss to the Bears, and two of the three were bail-out throws with a man in his face.

His favorite target – WR Tee Higgins – has not practiced this week with a shoulder injury. In addition to leading the team in targets, Higgins is also tied for first in receptions (10) and TD’s (2). His absence would be significant. UPDATE: Higgins was limited in practice on Friday and is listed as doubtful.

In his place Burrow will look to his college teammate and this year’s fifth overall pick: WR Ja’Marr Chase. After an abysmal camp and preseason (plagued by drops and an inability to create separation) he’s turned his young career around and leads the team in yards (155) and TD’s (2). He’s another guy who can go Henry Ruggs on your ass in a second; the Steelers will need to commit to keeping a lid on this offense, which will open up opportunities in intermediate yardage. MLB’s Joe Schobert and Devin Bush might hear their name called a lot in this game, sweeping up the clutter underneath.

Minkah would have made Burrow pay for this throw.

Former Pitt WR Tyler Boyd is another weapon, speaking of familiar faces. He’s tied with Higgins for most catches (10) and is second on the team in targets (13).

RB Joe Mixon (4.0 YPC, 98.0 YPG) figures to have a heavy workload this week. Look for the Bengals to lean heavily on the run and try to frustrate the Steelers’ elite edge pass rush and take some of the pressure off Burrow’s arm.

UPDATE: Two other Bengals starters are also designated doubtful this week: CB Trae Waynes was limited throughout the week, and RG Xavier Su’a-Filo has not practiced.

The Steelers don’t have any pity for the Bengals; they have plenty of health issues of their own. The leaders on both side of the ball – QB Ben Roethlisberger and LB TJ Watt – were limited in practice today. WR Diontae Johnson, LB Alex Highsmith, DE Carlos Davis, CB Justin Layne and MLB Marcus Allen were all non-participants. DE Stephon Tuitt is still on IR and not eligible to return until at least next week, and DT Tyson Alualu was placed on IR this week and will be unavailable for much of – if not all – of the 2021 season. Click on the links provided to read about their prognoses, from Dr. Melanie Friedlander.

On the plus side, TE Eric Ebron, CB Joe Haden and MLB Devin Bush were all full participants of Thursday’s practice. Barring any setbacks, they should play on Sunday.

UPDATE: DJ. Highsmith and Carlos Davis are down this week. TJ is listed as questionable after being limited in practice for a third straight day. No other Steeler received a game status; that means Ben, Joe Haden, Justin Layne, Devin Bush, Eric Ebron and Marcus Allen will all be available.

The key for the Steelers in this game is getting that Bengals D-line chasing your guys, instead of letting them come downhill at you all afternoon. Get Najee the ball out of the backfield, get those big boys turned around, huffing and puffing, and keep your QB on his feet. Ben spoke this past week about getting TE Pat Freiermuth more involved in the offense; look for #88 when the Steelers get into the red zone.

Something to keep in mind for the second meeting: the Bengals place gets loud, man. The fans at Paul Brown Stadium forced the Vikings into THREE false start penalties on the opening drive in the season opener. Better take care of your business at home this weekend, otherwise you very well could get swept by the Cincinnati Bengals. Sorry, I threw up a little in my mouth there.