Steelers vs. Bengals: Cincinnati Grades, Notes and Quotes

The Cincinnati Bengals limped into a Week 14 showdown with the Pittsburgh Steelers and left worse for wear with a 33-20 loss.

Over the course of the drubbing, the team lost quarterback Andy Dalton, tight end Tyler Eifert and a few other notable contributors for various amounts of time after entering the game without star cornerback Adam Jones.

Given the issues, a strong defensive effort to hold quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to no throwing scores didn't matter much as AJ McCarron struggled with a pair of interceptions to go along with two touchdowns.

Despite the ugly affair, Cincinnati remains at the top of the AFC North, though a dark injury cloud hangs over the remainder of the season as the team next looks to a showdown with the San Francisco 49ers.

Here's a look at the immediate notes and quotes from the loss.

Position Grades for Bengals

Gary Landers/Associated Press

Quarterback: C

What a day for Cincinnati quarterbacks. 

Dalton left the game with a thumb injury after needing to make a tackle due to a miserable interception in the red zone on a pitch. The saving grace for the grade is McCarron, who struggled to a 22-of-32 mark for 280 yards with a pair of scores and picks.

Those aren't world-beating numbers, but McCarron kept this one from being uglier than it could have been.

Running Back: C

Cincinnati backs went almost ignored Sunday, carrying the ball just 13 times as the team relied on the pass after it fell behind. 

Giovani Bernard led the way with his six carries for 40 yards, but Jeremy Hill disappointed with seven for 16.

Given the lack of Dalton to worry about, Pittsburgh had its way here.

Wide Receiver: A

With Eifert leaving the game with an injury, it was A.J. Green who stepped up for the Bengals with six catches for 132 yards and a score, one a 66-yard scoring connection with McCarron. 

His running mate, Marvin Jones, also caught six balls for 61 yards, making the wideouts a highlight of the day.

Tight End: C

Eifert might have had a big day if he had been able to stay in the game.

Before his exit, he caught both of his targets for 42 yards. After, though, the tight end position faded from the game plan.

Offensive Line: C

Andrew Whitworth and the line struggled most of the day to keep the quarterbacks out of trouble, eventually surrendering three sacks of McCarron. 

It's never easy for a unit to transition to a quarterback who doesn't take first-team reps, but this stands as a day to forget.

Defensive Line: A

Carlos Dunlap, Geno Atkins and others stood as the brightest spot of all for the Bengals on the day. 

Not only did Dunlap and the unit record two sacks, they held the Steelers to just three yards per carry, though they did play a part in letting up two rushing scores.

Linebacker: B

Vontaze Burfict stood tall as one of the team's vocal leaders even when things looked bleak and filled the stat sheet with 11 total tackles, too, an impressive number given his struggles to stay on the field.

Defensive Backs: B

On one hand, it's important to point out the secondary had no answer for Antonio Brown, who caught seven passes for 87 yards. On the other, few secondaries in the league do. 

Dre Kirkpatrick and the unit did what it could with Jones out of the picture and George Iloka in at sporadic times while hurt. Despite the issues, they didn't let up a passing score.

Special Teams: C

Brandon Tate looked all right on returns with no Jones to help out and contain looked good, but Mike Nugent whiffed on one of his attempts, perhaps showing he's a no-go from more than 50 yards out. 

Come playoff time, that might be a problem.

Coaching: C

Look, Marvin Lewis and his staff found themselves in a tough spot. But offensive coordinator Hue Jackson didn't seem to reel the playbook in a tad with his backup under center.

Lewis himself had a rough game, too, kicking field goals in four-down territory with the game somewhat close and for some reason challenging a play that would have resulted in a Steelers first down either way.

In all, the staff also had a day to forget.

Dalton, Eifert Exit with Injuries

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After Dalton's interception, he alone had to prevent a serious return by going low on Stephon Tuitt and making the tackle.

In the process, though, Dalton went to the locker room and returned with a brace on his throwing hand. A bit later, Eifert left the game and hit concussion protocol, per NFL.com's Aditi Kinkhabwala.

As Kinkhabwala notes, Iloka also left the game on the defensive side.

It's a concerning swath of injuries. The offense can live without Eifert for a short period given how the wideouts stepped up again, but a lack of Dalton under center will hurt. The secondary's ability to hold it together without Iloka, if he misses time, will hinge on pressure from up front.

Keep a close eye on the news wire this week.

McCarron Flashes in Relief

Frank Victores/Associated Press

He threw a pair of interceptions, but there might not be a worse way for a backup to enter an NFL game than unexpectedly in the first quarter of a violent, chippy rivalry game with conference implications on the line.

When viewed through that lens, McCarron did pretty well, no?

As hinted, it's easy to throw some blame at Jackson for not mixing up the offense enough under center, but part of the reason he didn't was because the Alabama product at times executed to perfection.

Such as the touchdown hookup with Green, as explained by Bleacher Report's Matt Miller: "Welcome to the NFL, AJ McCarron. That was a beautiful ball to AJ Green running a deadly stutter-and-go."

If Dalton misses a game or more, McCarron will get all of the first-team reps and in theory improve upon what he showed in an emergency situation.

Running Game Disappears

Gary Landers/Associated Press

Call it game flow or something else, but the Bengals let go of the run on Sunday after a refreshing two-game stretch in which the offense employed a run-first approach.

Granted, it would have been nice to grab a lead and grind Hill and Bernard, but an early touchdown allowance and Dalton's injury changed things.

Still, Cincinnati didn't make much of an effort to get the ground game going to protect McCarron. Bernard carried it just six times despite a 6.7-yard per-carry average, and Hill carried just seven times.

Perhaps most concerning, though, was that Hill had 12 of his 16 yards on a single carry. Given the precedence the ground game needs to take in the coming weeks with Dalton out a game or longer, it's not an encouraging performance.

Marvin Lewis, Dalton Talk Injury

Gary Landers/Associated Press

Though the injury happened in the first quarter and the broadcast showed Dalton in a cast, the Bengals weren't in a hurry to talk about the injury or make anything official.

They weren't after the game, either.

At least Lewis wasn't. Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com provided an update: "Lewis on Dalton: Andy will be out for a bit out next week."

In other words, the team expects Dalton to miss at least next week, though all Dalton said on the matter was he plans to get the issue addressed, according to John Kryk of the Toronto Sun: "Andy Dalton tells Bengals radio network that he has a fracture in right thumb and sees a surgeon tomorrow for consultation."

Stay tuned, because this one is just getting started.

Lewis Talks McCarron

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It's McCarron time in Cincinnati, and the Bengals don't sound too concerned about it.

They shouldn't be. As Lewis told Kinkhabwala, the team drafted the Alabama product for a reason: "Marvin Lewis on AJ McCarron: 'This kid has a great personality. That's why he's here... Now he's got to lead us for however long.'"

McCarron looked shaky on long throws except for the touchdown to Green, but a combination of big-bodied targets and actually practicing with the first team should help him in the coming weeks.

Obviously the team doesn't want to be without Dalton in the postseason, but the Bengals have always had a plan in place for this exact scenario.

McCarron Speaks on His Debut

Frank Victores/Associated Press

As for McCarron himself, he made it plain he sees room for improvement with the ball in his hands as starter. 

ESPN.com's Coley Harvey captured his thoughts on the matter: "AJ McCarron on Bengals' loss: 'I've got to play better. I'm going to play better. I can promise you that.'" 

With big weapons, an understanding he's the starter and a winnable matchup against a San Francisco team that just lost in 24-10 fashion to Cleveland, McCarron has a major shot to back up his talk next weekend.

He doesn't have much of a choice. Cincinnati's on the wrong side of the conference race now, and injuries mean the team could sure use some extra time off.

Again, Cincinnati planned for this. McCarron sounds like he wants to prove everyone right. Strap in.

Stats courtesy of NFL.com. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus.