The Steelers blew it big time against the Bengals. Losing sucks, but losing to a division rival in your own house sucks even more.
Ben Roethlisberger made his return after 5 weeks of healing his injured MCL. We were all happy to see the leader return to his throne once again. The Steelers had a good shot at taking down the Bengals, who were undefeated for the first time in forever.
Three. That’s how many interceptions Big Ben threw on his way to bitter defeat. A lot of us fans were expecting him to pick up where he left off, as if he hadn’t just returned from injury.
Granted, it wasn’t his upper body that had taken the hit, but he sat out of most practices just to be on the safe side, obviously.
Ben has been historically bad coming back from injuries, so there was that too. All in all, it was a bad day to say the least.
Aside from Big Ben’s troubles, Le’veon Bell’s right knee took a hit and he had to leave the game, which was another huge blow. We await further news on the condition and severity of his injury.
Mike Mitchell took a hit as well, leaving the game to go through concussion protocol.
Even with all this negativity, there is always something good to take away from the game. Heath Miller had an awesome day, recording 10 catches for 105 yards. He was the Steelers’ leading receiver for the day.
The defense showed up big as they put up huge numbers. They held the Bengals to only one touchdown and three field goals. Antwon Blake and Mike Mitchell each walked away with a pick, Bud Dupree and Steve McLendon each recorded a sack along with Ryan Shazier and Jarvis Jones sharing one, and we can’t forget Cam Heyward’s blocked field goal.
The defense held its own pretty well, even without the help of Stephon Tuitt. The offense stalled out when we needed them most.
A place where the Steelers offense must improve on is their third down efficiency. They only converted 3 out of 11 attempts. That spells trouble for anyone.
That and throwing picks. That’s a big one.
Next week the Steelers take on the Oakland Raiders, another team they historically do bad against.
Man, the season just keeps getting better and better, eh?
Stats and info courtesy of Steelers.com
