Tomlin: Steelers 'Not a Good Football Group Right Now' After 3rd Straight Loss

The Pittsburgh Steelers were atop the NFL with an 11-0 record just three weeks ago, but the team dropped its third consecutive game on Monday night, this time to the previously 2-10-1 Cincinnati Bengals.

"We're not a good football group right now," Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin told reporters after the loss, per NFL Network's Aditi Kinkhabwala.

The Steelers dropped their first game of the season two weeks back, a 23-17 loss to Washington, and fell to the AFC East champion Buffalo Bills 26-15 last Sunday. 

After turning the ball over three times and trailing 17-0 at the half, Pittsburgh fell to a banged-up Bengals team that was without starting quarterback Joe Burrow for the fourth straight week and lost top receiver Tyler Boyd with a concussion in the first quarter. 

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw for just 170 yards on 20-of-38 passing, with one touchdown pass and an interception. The minuscule yardage, his second-lowest of the season after a 162-yard outing in a Week 6 blowout of the Cleveland Browns, came after a 187-yard outing against the Bills last week, though he threw two touchdowns in that loss.

Bengals quarterback Ryan Finley threw for 89 yards and his first touchdown of the season while adding 47 yards on 10 carries with another score.

The Steelers seemed to have the top seed in the AFC locked up, but after two straight losses, the 13-1 Kansas City Chiefs have it all but secured. The Steelers dropped to the third seed. 

Meanwhile, the 10-4 Browns are chasing Pittsburgh for the division title after winning five of their last six outings, and they face the 1-13 New York Jets next week while the Steelers have a tougher opponent in the 10-4 Indianapolis Colts.

Of course, the season ends with a meeting between the Steelers and Browns, where that title could be on the line, since they both have a legitimate chance of entering the final week at 11-4.