In what was deemed their last chance to even potentially salvage the season, the story was the same one that we have seen time and time again this season. The offence came to play, the defence did not. Injuries have been piling up, but things have been so bad lately, that it goes well beyond that. Most of the saving grace for the Bengals right now is that they have a franchise QB and some great weapons. In any event, let’s take a look at some of the good and bad from Sunday’s loss to the Steelers.
The Good:
WR, Tee Higgins
Higgins was one of the best Bengals on Sunday. His 5 receptions for 69 yards and a TD look relatively modest for how the offence has been producing lately. However, he also contributed by drawing some big pass interference penalties. Pittsburgh had a tough time covering him all game.
RB, Chase Brown
Brown continues to look good since serving as the lead back after Zack Moss got hurt. Brown picked up 70 yards and a TD on the ground, while averaging 5.8 yards per carry. He also added 30 yards on 3 catches.
WR, Ja’Marr Chase
In past seasons, there have been instances where one or the other, of Chase and Higgins, has a big game and is the clear main target. But this year, the two have had big games almost all of the times they have both been active. Chase contributed 86 yards on 6 catches, also scoring a TD in the process.
DE, Joseph Ossai
Ossai has slowly been improving, even if he hasn’t developed into the player the team hoped for when he was drafted. But he did manage to make one of the biggest plays on Sunday, getting penetration through the line to block a Chris Boswell field goal.
CB, Cam Taylor-Britt
To call it a down season for Taylor-Britt would be an understatement. But after several bad performances, he was half decent on a day where most of the defence was awful. He wasn’t targeted a lot, though he did allow a TD. But on the flip side, it was his pick 6 that gave the Bengals an early lead.
The Bad:
CB, Mike Hilton
Hilton didn’t give up a ton of catches, but was beat pretty cleanly by Calvin Austin for a TD from a bit more than 20 yards out. While great as a tackler, speed is something that can cause issues for the veteran CB. He also took a 15 yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.
LB, Akeem Davis-Gaither
Davis-Gaither filled in for the injured Logan Wilson. He has usually been reliable when in this situation, but was abysmal on Sunday. Not only was he lost in coverage, allowing nearly 10 receptions, but he also led the team with 4 missed tackles.
LB, Germaine Pratt
Pratt wasn’t great either. Though not to Davis-Gaither’s extent, Pratt also gave up quite a bit in coverage. This to go along with his 2 missed tackles. Not a good game for the veteran LB.
S, Geno Stone
Stone was right behind Davis-Gaither when it came to missed tackles. He had 3 of them in the game. The lack of physicality that Stone has played with since joining the Bengals has been a big concern, and it doesn’t look like it will be going anywhere.
CB, Josh Newton
Newton was tossed into the starting lineup after DJ Turner’s season ending injury in their last game. As a new starter, Newton had a rough day dealing with the Pittsburgh receiving corps. He was picked on a handful of times, including on one occasion where he gave up a catch deep down the field.
Defence as a Unit
A number of individuals have already been named, but really, the whole unit was just bad. The Bengals had no pass rush, for the most part. They could not stop the run, they could not stop the underneath route, and they couldn’t stop the deep ball. There just wasn’t much that they could do.
DC, Lou Anarumo
I’ve defended Anarumo a little this season, placing most of the blame on personnel. And for the season as a whole, this may still be the case. But as far as this game goes, his game plan was also a big part of the issue. He had the defence sitting back and playing soft on a number of occasions, allowing the Steelers to pick up easy yards underneath. The game plan early might have been to stop the deep ball, but as they continued to get torched by dumpoffs, adjustments should have been made.
OT, Orlando Brown
The offence put up points, but it wasn’t a perfect showing. The OL was bad, and Brown was a big part of that. He got torched around the edge multiple times for a handful of pressures and a sack.
G, Cody Ford
Ford replaced a benched Cordell Volson at LG for this game, but did not prove to be any better. Like Brown, he allowed a sack. But overall, he had more issues as a run blocker than he did in his pass sets.
G, Alex Cappa
Cappa did not allow a sack, but was still responsible for a handful of pressures coming Burrow’s way. The big money G has not been able to live up to the billing at all this season, and may end up a cut candidate at the end of this season.
