By Chris Asbrock
The offensive line, which has played great all season, almost cost the Bengals the win. Throughout the game, Andy Dalton was running for his life and pressured heavily. Dalton was sacked three times in the game. Dalton did toss two interceptions in the game, with one being his fault and the other, not so much. It was the late game heroics of Dalton and A.J. Green that helped the Bengals remain perfect. Green once again showed why he is one of the top receivers in the league, as he compiled an impressive 118 yards on 11 receptions. While many will continue to crap on Dalton, saying he isn’t worthy of the praise he received the first six games, it was the Steelers defense that caused the Bengals offense issues all day.
The Steelers were able to dominate the Bengals line and push them in the backfield. The pressure caused numerous communication issues along the line. Pittsburgh was able to shut down Jeremy Hill and Gio Bernard, allowing them to pin their ears back and go after Dalton. The issues for the offense came down to the red zone. The Bengals were only able to punch it in the end zone once in the game, which took place with less than three minutes in the game. This was another big win for the Bengals and their offense after trailing late in the game.
2. Defense continues dominant play
After giving up an opening drive touchdown, the Bengals defense settled down and only gave up three more points. Granted a lot of that was due to the Le’Veon Bell injury. The return of Vontaze Burfict was just what the defense needed. Burfict brings a whole different element to this already solid defense and it showed today. Ben Roethlisberger also made his return but his return did not go as planned for Steelers fans. It was obvious Big Ben was not 100% and the Bengals did what they could to make him as uncomfortable as possible. Without his ability to scramble effectively, the Bengals defense was able to pressure Ben into making three mistakes. Throughout much of the game, the defense was able to put the offense in great field position.
Without Bell for most of the game, the Steelers were forced to utilize their other options in the passing attack. Bengals killer Heath Miller did his thing once again as he was huge for Pittsburgh, hauling in 10 receptions for 105 yards. Outside of the Miller having a big game, the Bengals were able to keep the high-powered Steelers offense in check. So far this season, the Bengals defense has wins over Philip Rivers, Joe Flacco, Alex Smith, Russell Wilson and Ben Roethlisberger. This defense has shown they can play well against some of the NFL’s elite play callers. If the defense continues to play this well, the Bengals could be playing on a certain Sunday in February.
3. Cut out the stupid penalties
Adam Jones once again put the Bengals in a bad spot with his boneheaded unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after his punt return. Instead of the Bengals getting the ball at midfield, the penalty backed them up to the 35. Now, it was not only Jones’ penalty that was costly for the Bengals. They were penalized 10 times for a total of 94 yards. The Bengals will need to cut out these penalties if they hope to play deep into the postseason. Good teams will make you pay for the amount of penalties the Bengals take. You will always have your holding calls and false starts but it is the others that must be cut out.
When Jones gets tagged for another 15 yard penalty for a reaction when he loses his cool, something has to be done by the coaching staff. After the penalty, Jones didn’t see the field for another punt return. With Adam Jones, you know those actions are a part of the package he brings. With Jones being a leader on the field with his play, his actions have not cost the Bengals a game but he is certainly walking on thin ice.
Next up for the Bengals is a home primetime matchup against the Cleveland Browns on Thursday night. The game is a year to the day when the Browns came into Cincinnati and blasted the Bengals on national television, 24-3. I can pretty much guarantee that will not occur again this season but stay tuned as I will be previewing the game this week.
Chris Asbrock is a staff writer and analyst for FTI Sports and can be followed on Twitter @iamchrisasbrock
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