Steel City Underground presents post-game takeaways from every Pittsburgh Steelers game of the 2023 NFL regular season.
Road games are always a challenge; AFC North rivalries typically end up being true tests. In the past, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals have had some knock-down drag-out slugfests when facing each other. On Sunday, in Week 12 of the 2023 NFL regular season, the Steelers visited “the jungle” – already on the ropes – to face a Bengals team that was hamstrung in its own ways.
With both teams trying to overcome deficiencies and injuries, no one could have predicted some of the truly bizarre things that occurred, or that removing one man and elevating two would make such a difference… but it did, for Pittsburgh.
The Steelers’ first offensive play of the game occurred right after the team received the opening kickoff, and it was eye-opening. Eddie Faulkner and Mike Sullivan dialed up a play that had Kenny Pickett throwing over the middle of the field to tight end Pat Freiermuth for a nice gain and a new first down. The ripples of shock spread across social media immediately.
You mean, Pickett might not have been the problem? Was Matt Canada really the biggest reason the middle of the field was a no-go zone offensively? The questions poured in to no one in particular.
The drive was nearly capped with a touchdown to Diontae Johnson. Upon review, it should have been called a touchdown by officials. That’s why replay has become nearly a must-have in the modern era of the NFL. Fans have the benefit of seeing things slowed down. Officials, not so much, unless there’s a challenge.
In the case of this single play, it could have still been called “incomplete” by officials even if Mike Tomlin had challenged it at the time. That’s how crazy inconsistent the officiating continues to be across the league. In this game, calls were wildly incongruous. The only way to overcome bad calls is to overcome them with bigger, better plays and a win.
For the first time in years – since the 2020 season, to be exact – Pittsburgh’s offense surpassed the 400-yard mark in production. The offense looked vastly different in how it performed, but not because every play had been rewritten. The mix of pass and run was well-balanced and plays were catered to the skills of the personnel on the field at the time.
No, the offense wasn’t perfect. They were effective, however. And that made a big difference in what the team produced in the 16-10 win.
Defensively, Pittsburgh was stingy in defending the run and were really only burned on a couple plays that were as close to a fluke as one could get in a football game. On two different pass plays, Steelers defenders were able to reflect the ball only to see a Bengals player end up with it in their hands. One of those plays set up the Bengals’ only touchdown.
The Steelers dialed up a heavy dose of pressure up front while going toe-to-toe with Bengals receivers down the field. The result was that Pittsburgh was able to own time of possession throughout the game and keep themselves from being gassed, giving the ball back to their teammates on offense to keep pushing for points on the scoreboard.
The victory gave this Steelers team a much-needed rebound after the complete meltdown they experienced in Week 11. The atmosphere in the locker room after the game certainly showed a huge swing in emotion.
Is it too soon to get overexcited and think all the ills have been cured for the Steelers? Probably. There are still six weeks left in the regular season. There are a lot of things that still need ironed out offensively. Defensively, the team would benefit from a healthy Minkah Fitzpatrick and more time for their rebuilt interior linebackers group and defensive backs to gel.
It’s not too soon to breathe a sigh of relief or pump a fist over the win, however. Steelers fans have endured a lot with this team in 2023, and enjoying a well-earned “Victory Monday” is deserved.
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