Recapping the Steelers Win @ Cincinnati
HERE WE GO!
I think most Steelers fans were growing pretty concerned with the offense following back-to-back games without breaking 20 points. Conservative, predictable play calling put us behind schedule too often in recent weeks, and it was really hurting our ability to finish drives with touchdowns. The floodgates were opened yesterday in Cincinnati en route to a 44-38 win over the Bengals, giving us a little breathing room in the AFC North standings, now two games above the Ravens who lost to the Eagles yesterday afternoon.
So, what the hell changed for our offense?
Well, for starters, the Bengals defense is extremely bad. They now have four losses this season in games in which they scored at least 30 points. With that being said, the teams they lost to under those circumstances are the Steelers, the Commanders, and the Ravens twice. Obviously, the Ravens and Commanders are two of the best offenses in the league, so it feels really good to include the Pittsburgh Steelers in that sentence. With the Bengals defense as bad as it is, it was still good to see our offense execute for four quarters, and give us the best offensive output we’ve had since, at least, 2018.
I think the biggest change to the offense that struck me pretty early on in this game was Russell Wilson getting the ball quicker than he has been all year. I said in my pregame thoughts that it was a part of Russell Wilson’s identity to hold onto the ball and wait for guys to get open down field, and that it was something we were just going to have to live with, and I stand by that sentiment. Coach Tomlin said before the game, that they had worked, during the long week, on staying ahead of schedule, and in order for that to happen, Russ was going to have to get some rhythm passing going. It’s hard to say whether it was Arthur Smith’s gameplan, or the fact that Russell Wilson clearly had more freedom to change plays, or both, but the Bengals were happy to sit back in zone coverage and force Russ to throw the ball short, and the Steelers took it and moved the ball with ease. After the pick-six to start the game, Wilson was hitting Najee Harris and Cordarelle Patterson upwards of 5-6 times on these short little checkdown routes between the C/RG, and it was working over and over and over again. Then, when the Bengals did line up in man coverage, with two deep safeties, Arthur Smith used Muth deep to take away one of the safeties, and Russ threw the ball over the top to Calvin Austin III for a 23-yard touchdown. I really like the way Derrick (@Steelers_DB) broke this play down on twitter/x, and he highlights the anticipation that Russell Wilson has on this particular throw. I’ll leave those tweets below. But anyway, Russell Wilson and CAIII are developing a hell of a chemistry, which is bad news for NFL defenses, because CAIII is one hell of a route runner.
Russell Wilson took what the defense was giving him, and it resulted in 414 yards passing spread out across 10 different Pittsburgh receivers. That wouldn’t have been as easy as it looked if it wasn’t for Najee Harris setting the tone as a runner in this game. He finished with 16 carries for 75 yards and a touchdown, and it was pretty clear from the start that the Steelers were going to be able to win this game whether it was a rough and tumble game in the trenches or a shootout. Not that my opinion matters to the Steelers front office, but it would be nice to bring Najee Harris back after this season. He embodies everything that I want from a Steelers running back, especially with skilled change-of-pace guys like Cordarrelle Patterson and Jaylen Warren behind him on the depth chart.
One last play I wanted to talk about from the Steelers offense was the 17-yard touchdown pass to George Pickens in the 1st quarter. The Bengals were in man coverage, and their DB sagged off, probably expecting a shot at the end zone but Russ gets it out quick, and Pickens gets a beautiful block by WR Ben Skowronek, and scampers basically untouched for a touchdown. Skowronek was selected in the 7th round of the 2021 draft by the Los Angeles Rams. At the time that he was being scouted, there was some speculation that he might switch to tight end because of his size (6 '3, 220 lbs.) and speed, or lack thereof. He has shown a propensity, for years now, to stay active on plays and block at an extremely high level. No doubt, his ability to lay an effective block on this play is why G.P. was able to scamper into the end zone as easily as he did. Skowronek had another big time block on the rush TD by Najee Harris. He has 2 catches for 27 yards on the season, including one catch for 23 yards in the Bengals game. Obviously, box score watchers are going to say this guy is trash. If that’s how you feel, I want you to load up any 2024 Detroit Lions football game, and watch their receivers on running plays. If you watch long enough, I promise you’ll be convinced that those guys are bought into what’s going on in Detroit, because they’re getting their hands DIRTY and blocking. It’s because of those things that the Detroit Lions are universally recognized as a Super Bowl contender this year. I only bring that up to say, you can never have enough team-first guys like that in any locker room, and Ben Skowronek has shown that he is deserving of a roster spot.
As for the defense, I have less to say about their performance in this game than I do the offense. It was nice to see Teryl Austin at least TRYING to move TJ Watt around in this game, something they claim we will see more of in the future. I said in my pregame thoughts that eventually something was going to have to change with how TJ is used, and we got the necessary changes. He finished the game with 2 sacks, a forced fumble, and a tackle for loss. You can’t keep that monster locked up forever; eventually he’s going to break free, and I loved watching him finally break free against one of the league's best QBs, Joe Burrow. He wasn’t the only one, though. How ‘bout Nick Herbig? I have been very public in my praise of him, calling him a superstar on multiple occasions, both on this platform, and on social media, and the National Media still hasn’t shown him any love. This Bengals game marks three straight games with a forced fumble for him, and he continues to be a steadying force in lieu of Alex Highsmith’s recent absence. Even when we get Alex Highsmith back, I don’t want Nick Herbig to get on the field any less than he has been, because when he’s out there, splash plays materialize. That’s a quintessential Pittsburgh Steelers LB.
Obviously, the Bengals scored 38 points, so it was a far-from-perfect performance by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Probably the biggest liability on the field in this particular game was Joey Porter Jr. There’s no doubt in my mind that the refs are watching him very closely, especially in recent weeks, and they flagged him to hell against the Bengals. Granted, most of the flags thrown against him were good calls, and that is certainly something to be concerned about moving forward. The tough thing about it is, I want him to have that reputation for being a physical corner, but he’s got to learn when to reel it in based on how the refs are calling the game. Once you’ve been called for two or three, maybe it’s time to ease up a bit, and he just didn’t. He is still a young guy, and he has plenty of time to figure this issue out, but the regular season is getting tight, and those kinds of plays could be killers against, say, the Philadelphia Eagles or the Kansas City Chiefs, both of which are on our schedule in the coming weeks. But, anyway, if you take out the JPJ penalties, and the pick-six that should’ve been called back at the beginning of the game, the scoreboard would look a hell of a lot different. Alas, a win is a win.
Can the offense keep it up this weekend in a rematch against the Cleveland Browns, who just embarrassed us last week?
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