Steelers Week 13 Reaction

 Bengals games are exhausting, reminds me a lot of the Ben Roethlisberger, LeVeon Bell, Antonio Brown Steelers teams where they could light it up and score a million points but give it all back on defense. I have grown accustomed to grind it out rock fights as a Steelers fan over the last few years so to see a game end 44-38 was jarring. That being said, huge W in the division on a day where the Ravens also lost AND my Raptors won, I am flying high to say the least. Lots to react to

Offensive Explosion

Man the Bengals defense really stinks. I want to come in here and give credit to the Steelers offense but I really think a lot of the damage was due to just complete ineptitude on the Bengals side. Through the entire game, Wilson was able to find receivers up the middle of the field. No adjustments necessary, if the Steelers ran a route to the middle of the field, that guy was open and probably open for a big gain. You name the RB and he was effective as well, Najee Harris, Cordarrelle Patterson and Jaylen Warren all were able to do whatever they wanted on the ground or through the air. Russell Wilson finished with 414 yards on 29/38 passing with 3 TDs and an interception. The interception was a pick 6 that shouldn't have counted in the first quarter, the Bengals CB dragged Pickens down by his helmet as the pass was being thrown, then with Pickens on the ground he was able to intercept it and take it to the house. No call on the play by the official, luckily it didn't end up mattering in the long run. Wilson got 10 different receivers involved on offense and the entire game it looked easy. Even when the Bengals managed to make a play or two, they would commit a stupid penalty to negate the progress. The Bengals need some serious help on that side of the ball. 

Still, even with the Bengals playing inept defense, the Steelers had their best offensive game in a long long time. 44 points is the most scored by a Steelers team since December 12, 2015 when they had 45 against the Panthers. Russell Wilson's 414 yards are the second most he's had in his entire hall of fame career, something I'd be straight up embarrassed about if I was a Bengals fan. The 520 total yards in this one was the most yards the Steelers have had since 2018 when they put up 527 against the Broncos. Any way you choose to look at it, the Steelers lit up the Bengals and that's been the story of the season for Cinci so far. 

Timely Defensive Plays Made

Another characteristic of Bengals games is that their offense is going to perform spectacularly behind Joe Burrow. The Bengals and Burrow looked really good all game as well with Joe making multiple plays out of absolutely nothing. I came away from this one again sad that they're wasting such a ridiculous talent on a team with absolutely no defense. Still, the Steelers managed to come up with a couple timely big plays to help lead them to victory. With the game tied at 21 in the second quarter and the Bengals looking to respond to a Steelers TD, TJ Watt got into the backfield and forced a fumble on Joe Burrow to get the Steelers the ball back. The Steelers ended up with a field goal on the ensuing drive to give them the narrow lead. When the Bengals got the ball back, they were forced into a 4th and 1 with the ball near mid field. Opting to keep the offense out there, the Bengals offensive line jumped early according to the referees moving them back 5 yards and turning a potential 4th down conversion into a punt instead. Upon replay, it looked like the Steelers actually jumped offside, but we will take it here at Lohensports. Cam Heyward will get a segment of his own with all the plays he made yesterday, but one to highlight here with the Steelers up 10 in the 4th, Cam got his hands on a pass and was able to deflect it right into the hands of Donte Jackson the Steelers DB for an interception.  Finally after the Steelers were forced to punt after the interception, the Bengals looked to be rolling on their next drive. Nick Herbig squashed all hope by bursting into the backfield and forcing another fumble on Joe Burrow, this time recovered by Peyton Wilson and taken all the way in for a Steelers defensive TD. Not a perfect game by the defense by any means, and believe me I will get to that, but enough timely plays to tip the fortunes in the Steelers favor. 

Cam Heyward is a Menace

Cam Heyward is 35 years old, he's played the most defensive games in the history of the Steelers and he is still producing at a high level every single Sunday. This was a game where Cam was genuinely everywhere, I should've written down all the plays I noticed him make but I didn't so you'll just have to go off my memory. In the first half after the Bengals RB Chase Brown busted off some big runs, Cam had a play where he stepped over a cut block down at his legs and got into the backfield to absolutely stamp the RB for a 5 yard loss. I can't imagine a more terrifying sight than a 300lbs man bursting towards you unblocked. Later in the second half, Cam had a key sack on Joe Burrow using his power and deceptive speed to get to the usually elusive QB. Finally, as mentioned above, Cam had another play where he tipped a pass at the line of scrimmage which resulted in an interception, a massive timely play for the defense. Cam Heyward is now up to 6 sacks on the season, is the Steelers best run stopper and is probably the most consistent and reliable player on the team's defense. Since 2011 Steelers fans have had the pleasure of watching Cam do his thing and it warms my heart that 13 years later he's still a disruptive force at the line of scrimmage. 

Terrible Game from Joey Porter Jr. 

The Steelers had an interesting gameplan on defense this week. Typically, Joey Porter Jr has been asked to play the lockdown corner role, shadowing the opposing team's best receiver. This week with NFL's leading receiver Jamar Chase coming to town, it was expected that Porter would handle Chase leaving Donte Jackson on Tee Higgins. The Steelers opted instead to leave Porter on Higgins 1 on 1 and double team Chase on every route he ran all game. The strategy more or less worked, holding Chase below his average yardage for the year, but the numbers do not show how ineffective Joey Porter Jr was at handling Tee Higgins. Looking at the boxscore you'll see Tee only had 5 catches for 69 yards, not mind blowing, but the boxscore doesn't account for penalties. I have never seen a game where a CB has gotten flagged as much as Joey Porter Jr. He had a play in the end zone where Burrow was looking to throw the ball away, but before the ball got anywhere near the receiver, Porter grabbed and tackled him to draw a huge pass interference penalty. He had another play where he got flagged twice on the same play, one for holding and one for pass interference. This means that Porter literally grabbed the receiver, let the route develop, then grabbed the receiver AGAIN to draw 2 flags. It got to the point late in the game where if Joe Burrow glanced in Porter's direction he was going to commit a penalty. After the game Tomlin pointed out that Tee Higgins is a physical receiver and he doesn't mind his young CB giving it back to him, but still playing with more discipline will be key going forward for JPJ. Porter still has all the talent in the world, it's his second NFL season and he's being thrown to the wolves on a weekly basis. I expect Porter to bounce back in a big way next week, keep your hands to yourself Joey!!

Atlanta Hawks of the NFL

I pointed out and I think it's an apt comparison, the Bengals are the Atlanta Hawks of football. The Hawks feature star PG Trae Young who is remarkably talented on the ball, but doesn't do anything off ball and is one of the worst defenders in the league. As a result, Hawks games typically feature a lot of scoring with Trae creating opportunities for himself and everyone. Trae Young usually finishes these games with massive stat lines, but if you look at the opponent's PG I bet you see a big stat line from them as well. Just like the Hawks, the Bengals leave every game with Joe Burrow having an MVP type of stat line, but the QB on the other side also gets to have the best game of his life. Both teams have this remarkable ability to beat any team in the league, they're just that talented on offense. But each of these teams also has the uncanny ability to lose to any team in the league, they're just that bad at defense. If you are new to football and really like big scores, watching all Bengals games will tickle your fancy. Similarly if you're new to basketball and like lots of points, I suggest watching the Hawks.  

Tomlin Remains Above .500

And finally, Mike Tomlin has now locked in his 18th straight season of above .500 football. The Steelers as a team haven't been below .500 since 2003 and never with legendary coach Mike T. In an era where fanbases clamor for tanking the second their team loses in the playoffs, I love that I get to watch a squad try to win year in and year out. A lot of these above .500 seasons haven't been done pretty, but god damn it does Mike Tomlin ever find a way to win. 

That's that! Huge week, like I said the Ravens also lost which always brings a smile to my face. Tomorrow in my recap I'll probably be talking a lot of shit so stay tuned. As always, go Steelers!