Pittsburgh Steelers Report Card in Win Over the Cincinnati Bengals
For a second straight week the Pittsburgh Steelers traveled to a hostile environment for a prime time game and this time it was against AFC North rival Cincinnati Bengals.
A week after losing to the defending Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints, the Steelers had to match up against the defending AFC North Champion Bengals.
Cincinnati left a sour taste in Pittsburgh’s mouth last season, sweeping the Steelers en route to the division title.
To get back to where the Steelers expect to be they need to regain dominance in the division and while it took some time they put on a show against the Bengals.
For the first time in several weeks Pittsburgh’s defense held their opposition’s passing attack relatively in check and applied solid pressure.
Offensively the Steelers ran the ball fairly effectively, particularly considering Max Starks, Chris Kemoeatu, and Maurkice Pouncey missed portions of the game with injuries.
Mike Wallace had a breakout game with over 100 receiving yards and a touchdown reception from an Antwaan Randle El pass.
These factors helped Pittsburgh raise their record to 6-2 and kept them in the thick of things in the AFC.
Quarterback: B-
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Ben Roethlisberger felt Cincinnati’s pressure and was able to get rid of the ball to avoid the sack.
His ability to escape the pass rush was highlighted with a spin move to get away from a defender followed by a fade away pass to Heath Miller which nearly gained enough yardage to pick up a first down on a third down play.
Roethlisberger’s overall decision making throughout the night was efficient and he used his escapability to make plays, including a big third down conversion scramble in the fourth quarter.
A decent night from Roethlisberger could have been even better if not for a couple of miscues.
Hines Ward let a pass deflect off his hands in the end zone and Roethlisberger under threw Wallace on a deep pass.
A lazy interception thrown with just over 10 minutes to go in the fourth quarter put the game in jeopardy, but the Steelers were able to overcome this mistake to maintain the victory.
Season GPA: 2.35
Running Backs: B+
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Rashard Mendenhall was held to under 100 rushing yards yet again this week but played well given the offensive line that he had ahead of him.
Falling just a yard short of 100, Mendenhall spent much of the middle part of the game running into the back of his linemen. Then the fourth quarter came.
Bruce Arians stopped calling long developing run plays that get stopped for losses and allowed Mendenhall to run quick hitters right up the middle.
The plays paid off as Mendenhall shredded the Bengals defense.
He had another long run on the horizon on a third down if not for a missed block by backup guard Doug Legursky.
Mendenhall added another 31 yards on three receptions.
Both Isaac Redman and Mewelde Moore had minimal impact on the game and each left the game with a concussion.
Season GPA: 3.21
Wide Receivers: B
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Hines Ward moved into third place for consecutive games with a reception when he grabbed a pass for the 186th straight game, passing Terrell Owens.
Ward came up with Roethlisberger’s only touchdown pass of the game and Antwaan Randle El had the big play of the game completing a 39-yard touchdown pass to Mike Wallace.
Wallace was the receiving star of the night coming up big with five receptions for 110 yards. He had several big receptions that set up scores.
Ward and Wallace each had a drop, Ward’s a drop in the end zone and Wallace’s a drop that could have put the Steelers in position to score a touchdown before the half. Pittsburgh finished with a field goal on each drive.
The other issue came as the receivers were not prepared for the hot route when Roethlisberger fired the ball out while trying to avoid the rush.
This is the second straight week that this has been a problem and Arians will need to work shorter routes into the Steelers offensive scheme.
Season GPA: 3.26
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Tight Ends: B+
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Heath Miller had another three catches for 31 yards and Matt Spaeth had a reception for the second straight week.
It was yet another week in which Pittsburgh did not use Miller as a key offensive weapon.
Last season Miller displayed the ability to be a big play tight end in the passing game and he has been virtually ignored this year.
Miller can control the middle of the field and needs to be further integrated into the offense.
Season GPA: 3.13
Offensive Line: C-
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Pittsburgh’s offensive line was hit by a number of injuries and it showed with their performance.
The run game became sluggish and Roethlisberger was pressured repeatedly, though he was only sacked once.
Chris Kemoeatu left the game with a leg injury and his status is up in the air.
Max Starks injured his neck and the early word is that it is worse than expected and he could potentially miss the rest of the season.
The greatest concern was when Maurkice Pouncey left the game after suffering a lower leg injury.
It was the first snaps that Pouncey missed all season and the offensively line instantly became ineffective.
Pouncey displayed his toughness, though, returning to the field in the second half and help reestablish the line.
Doug Legursky played bother center and guard and missed several key blocks while playing on the line but did make a key block at the goal line while at fullback to allow Mendenhall to score a touchdown.
Jonathan Scott also saw time at tackle and could play a more significant role if Starks misses significant time.
Even though Pittsburgh had to go with a makeshift line, I still cannot justify rating their performance higher.
Season GPA: 2.35
Defensive Line: B
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For the eighth straight game Pittsburgh’s defense held an opponent to 75 or fewer rush yards, an NFL record.
Cedric Benson only had 54 yards on 18 carries and was completely shut down in the second half.
The early going was looking good for the Bengals run game.
Benson was picking up big yardage against the Steelers defense which started out in the nickel. This meant only two defensive linemen on the field and the Bengals took advantage of the situation.
Once Pittsburgh returned to their base defense they shut down Benson.
Brett Keisel had a pretty good performance in his return but injured his hamstring.
Ziggy Hood was more active this week and seems to be more comfortable now that he is settling into a starting role.
Late in the game, Casey Hampton was called for roughing the passer. Though the hit was on the legs, he hit Palmer above the knees and it appeared to be legal.
The penalty proved costly though as the Bengals scored later on that drive.
Season GPA: 3.39
Linebackers: B+
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Once again the Steelers linebackers came to play.
James Farrior led the way with 11 tackles, including one for a loss, and a sack while fellow inside linebacker Lawrence Timmons continued to play at an All Pro level finishing with only four tackles but had two pass defenses and an interception.
Pittsburgh’s pass rushers also came to play with LaMarr Woodley and James Harrison collapsing the pocket and drawing holding calls all night.
Woodley came up big with two sacks and a tackle for a loss and Harrison was just as good with one sack, three tackles for a loss, and broke up a fourth down pass that sealed the game.
Despite their excellent play, it nearly wasn’t enough as Cincinnati nearly came back from a 20 point deficit.
Season GPA: 3.21
Defensive Backs: D
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After a good start to the game, Pittsburgh’s secondary struggled in the second half. Their struggles were highlighted in the fourth quarter when they nearly allowed Cincinnati to come back from 20 points down.
William Gay, who started the game quite well, ended up being picked on for much of the night and got abused badly on an Owens touchdown.
Bryant McFadden also got beat by Owens for a touchdown. What made the play even worse was that Palmer was hit hard as he threw the ball and McFadden still allowed the 27-yard touchdown completion, Palmer’s second of the game.
Palmer finished the game completing 22 of 36 passing for 248 yards and two touchdowns.
One positive was Ike Taylor who had a strong game overall but was called for two fourth quarter pass interference penalties.
On one play he clearly got to the receiver before the ball but on the other, Owens complaining after the play is what drew the flag. This one hurt because Taylor had blanket coverage and rather than an incomplete pass, it gave the Bengals a first and goal from the one.
Troy Polamalu had a strong game and was the Steelers second leading tackler with six stops and played near the line.
Season GPA: 2.08
Special Teams
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Pittsburgh did not allow Cincinnati’s returners to hurt them like last year, despite allowing a 46-yard return, the longest of the season.
The game actually started off on a positive as Emmanuel Sanders forced a fumble on the opening kickoff. Jason Worilds recovered it which led to the first touchdown of the game.
Worilds was in on several special teams tackles and has proven to be very valuable on this unit.
The Steelers also had a punt block from Gay which led to a field goal.
Reed did miss a 46-yard kick but made a career long 53-yard field goal right before the half.
While there were a couple of bad plays on special teams, the Steelers had 10 points as a direct result of special team’s turnovers and that helped get them the win.
Season GPA: 2.99
Coaching: C-
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Pittsburgh had seven penalties, including three straight in the fourth quarter and two turnovers as they nearly blew a 27 to 7 lead over Cincinnati.
That alone drops the Steelers coaching grade as sloppy play can usually be attributed to the head coach, Mike Tomlin.
Bruce Arians had moments of brilliance calling plays while at other times continued to call plays that never work. This was particularly the case when the Steelers had opportunities to close out the Bengals.
The same can be said about Dick LeBeau’s defense.
At times the defense looked dominant while at others vulnerable. When the offense finally gave them a 20 point lead the defense did their best to blow it.
Luckily, they did not and they are tied for the best record in the AFC as the first half of the season came to a close.
Season GPA: 2.43
Study Up: What Must Improve
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It is quite simple. Pittsburgh returns home to play the New England Patriots so they will have to prepare like no other week.
Bill Belichick is an expert at exploiting his opponent’s weaknesses so there is no doubt that he will have Tom Brady throw the ball all over the field.
He also has a knack for confusing the Steelers offense so Arians should actually look to see what the Browns did so well to dominate the Patriots last week.
While it will be a tough game, the Steelers will be thrilled to be in front of an enthusiastic prime time crowd for the third straight week only this time at home.
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