After a few solid performances, the Pittsburgh Steelers fell flat on their faces against the Cincinnati Bengals. They lost 33-31 Thursday night, not being able to stop Joe Flacco and company. It was an unfortunate outcome for the Steelers, who had a real opportunity to take command of the AFC North. Now, they’ve got to reevaluate, with their defense continuing to be plagued by the same issues. However, former NFL linebacker LaVar Arrington thinks there were some positives for the Steelers despite the loss that dropped them to 4-2.
“It was not a bad game by Pittsburgh,” Arrington said Friday on his 2 Pros and a Cup of Joe podcast. “I would say Pittsburgh fell on the right side of a loss. I thought the Steelers played good football. A couple of things that maybe could have played out a little differently for them. It was a well-played game.
“It’s not a great look, but not a horror. You would assume, for one, there’s only maybe a handful of teams that would be able to have players do what Cincinnati did last night. I don’t think it comes as a surprise that you’re going to have your hands full playing against this Cincinnati team.”
It’s fair to say that not everything was terrible for the Steelers in Week 7. For example, for the second game in a row, the Steelers’ offensive line didn’t allow a sack. That group is young, and it’s nice to see these signs of development.
Also, the Steelers’ run game has been getting better. It started slow, but against the Bengals, the Steelers ran the ball well. Jaylen Warren put up 127 yards, averaging 7.9 yards on 15 carries. That’s the style of offense that the Steelers want to play. If their ground game can keep that up, then their offense could really start clicking.
However, it’s tough to argue that the Steelers played a good game against the Bengals. Did they do some things well? Yes, but they also did a lot of things poorly. Their defense had an awful game all around. Arrington is correct that not many teams have Cincinnati’s fire power at wideout, but Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins weren’t the only players who caused problems for the Steelers.
Pittsburgh also struggled to stop the run, an issue going back to last season. The Steelers are set to play plenty of other good offenses, too. If they can’t handle Flacco, then they might be in for a long season. Thankfully, their offense has shown signs of life. Perhaps they’ll be able to put everything together at some point this year.