On a night when the Pittsburgh Steelers needed the offense to pull its weight, they fell flat. The Steelers defense did its job against the Bengals but the Pittsburgh offense came up short time and time again en route to a narrow 19-17 loss.
The biggest story was quarterback Russell Wilson and wide receiver George Pickens. The first time these two teams squared off, Wilson threw for 414 yards but on Saturday could only muster 148 yards, many of which came in the final minutes.
A big reason for those struggles was the play of Pickens. After quitting on a route last week that caused a huge interception, Pickens struggled against Cincinnati. Pickens was targeted six times and finished with only one catch for zero yards.
The Steelers defense deserved better. They kept one of the hottest offenses in the NFL in check for much of the game. They held Joe Burrow to 277 passing yards and were able to pick him off one and sack him four times.
Now the Steelers must watch the scoreboard on Sunday to determine their playoff future. If the Los Angeles Chargers beat the Las Vegas Raiders, the Steelers travel to Baltimore in the first round of the playoffs. If the Raiders pull off the upset, they will take on the Houston Texans on the road.
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