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The expression of the week when describing the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Monday night test against the Cincinnati Bengals has been, “It’s a ‘get right’ game.”
If you’ve listened to any sports radio at all this week, you’ve heard that phrase applied to the thinking of how things should go down in Cincinnati for the Steelers in their prime-time affair.
Mainly because the Bengals are anything but “prime-time.” They’ve been awful this year, especially since losing promising rookie quarterback Joe Burrow to a knee injury.
The Bengals (2-10-1) have totaled only 50 points while losing their last five games. That streak started with a 36-10 defeat Nov. 15 at Heinz Field. Burrow was injured the next week as the team was en route to a 20-9 loss to Washington. And they are fresh off a 30-7 beatdown from the Dallas Cowboys, a game that featured the loss of backup quarterback Brandon Allen.
That means Ryan Finley will have to start against the Steelers. He absorbed 11 sacks in three games last year as the Bengals limped to a 2-14 record. Four of them came during a 16-10 loss to the Steelers at Paul Brown Stadium a year ago.
At the start of play Sunday, the Bengals’ 18.8 points per game ranked 30th in the NFL. Their 319.3 yards per game were 29th in the NFL. Their 131.7 yards rushing allowed were 27th. And their total yards-allowed average of 382.2 was 24th.
So, yes, it appears plenty of opportunities to “get right” exists for the Steelers on both sides of the ball.
“What a great test for us to kind of get some ‘pre-postseason’ work in by playing these last three games,” quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said last week. “We still have some work to do to kind of get ourselves out of the lull that we are in because every team has them. It just so happens ours is happening right now.”
The lull Roethlisberger is talking about has come on quite quickly and dramatically. After 11 straight wins, the Steelers have lost two in a row. They’ve failed to break 20 points in any of their last three games.
Thankfully for the Steelers, they have this “pre-postseason” opportunity to “get right.” Because the next two chances are against much better teams. Both the Indianapolis Colts and Cleveland Browns are in playoff contention. Those two contests won’t be about working out kinks on offense for Roethlisberger and company. It’ll be about surviving for a win and best positioning themselves in the AFC playoff bracket.
One thing the Steelers should try to do is get the passing game more diversified. It’s become very reliant on short, quick throws in recent weeks, hoping for catch-and-run yardage. The constant shotgun has become a pop-gun for Roethlisberger and company.
The last time the Steelers broke 30 points was in that win against the Bengals. It was also the last time Roethlisberger had a passer rating over 90 and averaged more than 5.8 yards per attempt.
Looking back at that matchup, Roethlisberger hit a 46-yard deep pass down the sideline to Diontae Johnson in the second quarter. On the next drive, he pushed the ball up the field to JuJu Smith-Schuster for 24 yards. And he threw the ball 21 yards in the air to the goal line, drawing a pass interference penalty on an attempt to Chase Claypool. Both of those possessions resulted in touchdowns.
Yeah. Chase Claypool. Remember that guy?
After forcing a punt, Roethlisberger went 24 yards up the seam to tight end Eric Ebron during a field-goal drive. In the third quarter, Roethlisberger threw the ball to just beyond the sticks on a pair of third-down conversions to Claypool and Smith-Schuster during another touchdown march.
Instead of dumping the ball short of the line to gain and relying on yards after the catch to get the job done.
That victory from the Steelers was perhaps the last time we saw the deep and intermediate passing game effectively intermixed with the short throws that have dominated the Steelers’ approach in the weeks since.
“We saw both ends (of the Steelers passing attack),” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said Friday. “Against us, you saw him hold onto the ball and create some big plays. So (Roethlisberger) is still plenty capable of that. I think he does a good job recognizing what his protection allows. You have to be ready to cover for a long time. At the same time, they have a lot of quick hitters that they are good at.”
So maybe judging if the Steelers are “getting right” against the Bengals is impossible. Maybe they are so bad and so prone to getting gashed by the Steelers that it’s more a matter of simply “getting going.” Restoring some confidence and rhythm in that offense before tougher games against the Colts and Browns. Especially a run game that has eclipsed 70 yards just once in the last seven games.
Let’s not forget about a defense that has been wobbling lately, too.
“We have to play better overall,” linebacker T.J. Watt said Friday. “All three phases. We are more than capable of playing better football.”
In an interview Friday morning, Steelers offensive tackle Alejandro Villanueva dismissed the notion of “style points” mattering. He was defending the team’s quick-release reliance against a wave of criticism in recent weeks.
But “style points” are not of concern. It’s not about how flashy the Steelers look in victory. It’s how effective they are in executing all the important elements of their game.
While actually winning again.
Something they desperately need to “get right” in Cincinnati. And something they’ve gotten very wrong the last two weeks.
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Bengals play-by-play voice Dan Hoard joins me to preview Steelers-Bengals in Monday’s “Breakfast With Benz” podcast.
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via Twitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
Categories: Sports | Steelers/NFL | Breakfast With Benz | Tim Benz Columns
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