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Sunday was one of the ugliest performances by the Pittsburgh Steelers since Mike Tomlin took over as head coach. All three phases underperformed which led directly to an embarrassing 24-10 home loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. The loss dropped the Steelers to 1-2 on the season and they currently sit in last place in the AFC North.

We will spend a great deal of time talking about the whys of this loss but Tomlin doesn’t need any time at all. In his postgame press conference, Tomlin was direct when he pointed the finger for this letdown squarely on the players. Tomlin pointed out how penalties and failures in one-on-one-type plays are why the offense has struggled so much.

While I don’t disagree that the players underperformed on Sunday, how much of that has to do with preparation by the coaching staff? And coaching and adjustments done in-game? Tomlin’s teams in recent years have gained this reputation. Is the front office really that bad at selecting talent or is there a disconnect when it comes to preparation and motivation?

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The Pittsburgh Steelers have been one of the best pass-rushing teams in the NFL historically. So much so they had a 75-game streak of sacking the quarterback on the line when they took on the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.

But the streak ended at Heinz Field on Sunday when the Cincinnati offensive line held the vaunted Steelers defense sackless. Pittsburgh was only able to muster a single pressure the entire game. The Steelers fell to the Bengals 24-10.

In this game Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow all the time he needed to pick the Steelers secondary apart. Burrow finished with 172 yards passing on 14-of-18 passing with three passing touchdowns.

Pittsburgh went into the game without starting outside linebackers T.J. watt and Alex Highsmith who were both out with groin injuries. But let’s not act like this excuses such poor play by the Steelers defense. There were plenty of other players on the field on Sunday who could have kept the streak alive and didn’t.

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The Pittsburgh Steelers fell to 1-2 on the season after Sunday’s embarrassing 24-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Don’t let the boxscore fool you, this game was not a close one in any facet of the game.

Pittsburgh offense was without wide receiver Diontae Johnson and lost fellow wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger fed running back Najee Harris the ball as well as wide receiver Chase Claypool early and often in an attempt to keep pace. But interceptions and dropped passes stalled out drive after drive without points.

The Steelers defense looked lost without linebackers T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith. The team failed to record a sack for the first time in 75 games and Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow spent the game under very little pressure.

This loss was an ugly one and the team didn’t show much heart as they attempted to make a second-half comeback. Injuries continue to pile up and the lack of depth on this roster was once again exposed. Pittsburgh must now prepare to go on the road next week and take on the Green Bay Packers.

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