Category: 2023 Season Week 12 – Steelers vs Bengals

Steelers HC Mike Tomlin says he wasn’t quick enough on Johnson challenge

Mike Tomlin got lucky that his missed challenge didn’t cost the Steelers.

Thankfully, the missed call by Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin didn’t cost his team on Sunday but it certainly could have. Early in Sunday’s 16-10 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, a touchdown by wide receiver Diontae Johnson was called an incomplete pass but was definitely a touchdown.

Tomlin didn’t challenge the play and he talked about why he didn’t after the game.

“They were definitive and I lost vision of it,” Tomlin said. “There were people between me and him. I couldn’t count steps. They never gave us another look at it in the stadium and we didn’t get a quick enough look at it up top. Sometimes it happens when you’re on the road. Some games being on the road, some games being at home, all those things even out in the big scheme of things.”

At first glance, it did feel like a “survive the ground” situation but upon review, you could see that third step pretty clearly. It’s unfortunate the officials missed this and Tomlin should be very happy his failure to act didn’t come back to haunt this team.

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Twitter reacts to the Steelers offense without Matt Canada

Steelers fans are pretty excited about the new-look offense.

Life after Matt Canada seems pretty good. The Pittsburgh Steelers offense looked like a completely different group on Sunday as they beat the Cincinnati Bengals and Twitter had plenty to say about the Steelers offensive performance sans Canada.

Steelers vs Bengals: 5 takeaways big from the huge win

The new Steelers offense helped carry Pittsburgh to the win.

The Pittsburgh Steelers new-and-improved offense broke a 58-game streak of not gaining 400 yards of offense on the way to a 16-10 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. Here are our big takeaways from the win.

Steelers WR Diontae Johnson gives up on live play

Diontae Johnson made no effort to go after the fumble by Jaylen Warren.

One play after having his touchdown taken away by officials, Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson showed his frustration on the field. Johnson hauled in a touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals only to have the official call it incomplete, which was the wrong call.

On the next play, running back Jaylen Warren fumbled on a carry and as you can see from the video below, Johnson made no effort to go after the football. In fact he made no effort even before the fumble and after he saw what was going on. It was scooped up by Bengals cornerback DJ Turner and tight end Connor Heyward made a touchdown-saving tackle.

Fortunately, the Bengals could not turn the fumble into points but it’s still not a great look for Johnson. He’s been guilty of some emotional outbursts lately but we have a hard time getting too down on him for still trying to shake off the play before. Should Johnson have made more of an effort or did he even recognize the play was happening?

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Steelers HC Mike Tomlin missed obvious TD by not reviewing catch

Mike Tomlin make a mistake by not reviewing Diontae Johnson’s touchdown.

If this showdown between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals comes down to the wire, we will look back to this miss by Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin in the first quarter.

On the Steelers second drive of the game, quarterback Kenny Pickett threw a dart between two defenders to wide receiver Diontae Johnson for what appeared to be a touchdown. Johnson dropped the ball as he hit the ground outside the back of the end zone and it was ruled incomplete.

Tomlin chose not to challenge the play and it was a mistake. On the next play, running back Jaylen Warren fumbled and Cincinnati took over. But had Tomlin challenged, the play would have likely been overturned and the Steelers would have gotten the score.

During the broadcast, former NFL official Gene Steratore supported the idea it was a score. Johnson got a third foot down before losing the ball, which makes the fumble irrelevant because once that third foot is down, the play is dead.

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New Steelers offense to highlight Jaylen Warren and George Pickens

It sounds like the Steelers have a plan for the new-look offense.

According to NFL reporter Ian Rapoport, the new Pittsburgh Steelers offense is going to feature the two best weapons on offense. Rapoport says the new Steelers offense is going to be built to get wide receiver George Pickens more targets and running back Jaylen Warren more touches. This week the Steelers take on the Cincinnati Bengals on the road and come into the game at 6-5.

Warren has been the team’s best offensive player over the last several weeks and after two straight games over 100 rushing yards should be the team’s primary rusher.

As for Pickens, he’s not got the polish of Diontae Johnson but is a more reliable pass catcher and this, along with his deep speed might be enough for him to be the lead receiver and help boost the confidence of Kenny Pickett. The fact Johnson has thrown a couple of temper tantrums in recent weeks could also factor into this decision.

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Pittsburgh’s inactives list for Steelers vs Bengals

Here are the inactive players for Steelers-Bengals Week 12 matchup.

It’s a classic AFC North showdown as the Pittsburgh Steelers go into Paul Brown Stadium to take on Jake Browning and the Cincinnati Bengals.

As we learned on Friday, the Steelers will be without the services of Minkah Fitzpatrick for a fourth straight week.

Steelers vs Bengals: 4 bold predictions for this week’s game

This week the offense will start to turn things around and Alex Highsmith has a big game.

This week the Pittsburgh Steelers hope to get back to their winning ways taking on a Cincinnati Bengals team minus franchise quarterback Joe Burrow. Will they do it? What will the new offense look like for the Steelers? Here are our bold predictions for this week’s game as the Steelers try to stay in the playoff mix.

Steelers vs Bengals: 4 keys to victory for Pittsburgh

The new offense will be baby steps but the team must continue to do what it does well to beat the Bengals.

This week, the Pittsburgh Steelers hope to put the past behind them and usher in a new era on offense with Matt Canada out and Eddie Faulkner in. First up is the struggling Cincinnati Bengals. If Pittsburgh has any hope of making the playoffs, they have to find a way past the Bengals and get back on track.