Things started the right way for the Pittsburgh Steelers defense against the struggling Cincinnati Bengals offense in Week 7. But after the first quarter, T.J. Watt and the Steelers defense unraveled, to say the least.
Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco, who has been with the team less than two weeks, completed 31 of 47 passes for 342 yards and three touchdowns. Wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase set a new franchise record with 16 catches for 161 yards and a touchdown.
On the ground, Chase Brown rushed for 108 yards, averaging 9.8 yards per carry.
Behind the yardage output against the Steelers defense, the Bengals scored on seven of their last eight drives Thursday night. Cincinnati’s final field allowed the Bengals to edge the Steelers 33-31.
After the game, Watt voiced significant frustration with all aspects of the Steelers defense against the Bengals offense.
“It seemed like everything [was going wrong],” Watt told reporters. “It was an absolutely unacceptable performance from most of the defensive side of the ball.”
Individually, Watt had a largely uneventful night. The All-Pro posted one tackle and 0.5 sacks.
His sack came on the lone drive where the Bengals punted on their final eight possessions. But Watt had no other big plays and neither did many of the other Steelers defenders.
T.J. Watt, Steelers Fail to Create Turnover for 2nd Straight Game
Last season when the Steelers lost their last four regular season games, the defense stopped creating “splash” plays or turnovers. It’s only been two contests over five days, but the Steelers defense is going through another turnover dry spell.
Pittsburgh’s defense didn’t have any takeaways Thursday night at Cincinnati. That’s rather disappointing after Flacco had six interceptions in four starts with the Browns.
However, in two starts with the Bengals, Flacco has tossed five touchdowns with no picks.
The Steelers dropped several interception opportunities in Week 6 versus the Cleveland Browns. They weren’t all that close to a pick Thursday night. The Bengals didn’t fumble either.
In Weeks 1 and 3, the Steelers gave up a lot of yards and didn’t perform well situationally — in the red zone or on third down. But takeaways helped the Steelers win.
Without a takeaway Thursday, the Steelers had a minus-2 turnover margin against Cincinnati.
“If you’re not stopping the run and getting off the field and not creating turnovers, you’re in a world of hurt,” said Watt.
Steelers Lose Another Road Thursday Game
With the loss at Cincinnati in Week 7, head coach Mike Tomlin dropped to 2-10 in road Thursday night games. Tomlin is 0-7 in his career in away Thursday games in the AFC North.
Last season, the Steelers lost in Ohio on Thursday night as well — a blizzard game versus the Browns during late November.
Watt addressed the team’s poor record in away Thursday night affairs after the Bengals loss.
“I think it’s tough for everybody to play this quick of a schedule,” Watt added. “If they’re going through it, we should be able to figure it out as well.”
The Browns weren’t in contention last season, so that loss didn’t hurt the Steelers in the standings too much. But the defeat Thursday could be greatly detrimental to Pittsburgh.
The Steelers had an opportunity to take a 3.5-game lead in the AFC North just seven weeks into the 2025 season. Instead, the Bengals pulled within 1.5 games.
One could argue Flacco saved Cincinnati’s season with his performance Thursday.
The Steelers will face the Bengals again at home on November 16. But before that, the Steelers will play three division leaders — the Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Chargers.
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