That was a breath of fresh air from the offense, and it resulted in a convincing 16-10 win for the Pittsburgh Steelers over the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday at Paycor Stadium in their first game without Matt Canada.
Just five days after firing the much-maligned offensive coordinator, the Steelers turned in their best showing offensively of the season, racking up 421 yards of total offense, attacking the middle of the field and looking like a modern offense overall in the win that wasn’t anywhere near as close as the final score was.
Second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett looked significantly better than he had in previous weeks, taking shots down the field and utilizing tight end Pat Freiermuth up the seam, as well as wide receivers Diontae Johnson and George Pickens down the field along the sideline for big gains.
While the offense had consistent success on the day, the Steelers’ defense did its job against a backup quarterback in Cincinnati’s Jake Browning. Taking the run game away, the Steelers forced Cincinnati to play one-dimensional, getting off the field often and giving the football back to the offense, which dominated time of possession.
Let’s take a look at some grades.
QB — A
What a day from Kenny Pickett. He looked very confident right from his first pass, attacking down the field over the middle, hitting Pat Freiermuth for a gain of 24 yards on the first play from scrimmage.
He should have had a touchdown on the 15-yard laser he threw to Diontae Johnson that was ruled an incomplete pass and was never challenged, but that didn’t cause Pickett to falter. He was really good on the day, finishing 24-of-33 for 278 yards, including a 43-yard completion to George Pickens on a slot fade, a 39-yard dime to Diontae Johnson, and a 29- and 24-yard strike to Freiermuth.
Pickett read the field very well throughout the game, never really panicked and processed quickly. He made a ton of great decisions with the football and was a consistent reason for the Steelers’ offense looking as good as it has in a long time.
That is very encouraging moving forward.
RB — B
Najee Harris came out ready to go on Sunday and really set the tone for the offense in the run game.
Harris finished with 99 yards on 15 carries, adding a 5-yard touchdown to give the Steelers a 10-7 lead in the third quarter. He added two explosive runs on the day, too, ripping off runs of 22 and 20 yards, the latter of which came on sheer effort from Harris, keeping his legs churning in the pile and barreling downhill.
Behind Harris, Jaylen Warren had a relatively quiet game. He finished with 49 yards on 13 carries but had a costly fumble in the first quarter. Warren also added three receptions for 13 yards and had a long run of 15 yards in the fourth quarter that helped the Steelers get out from their own end.
WR — B-
This grade would be much, much higher had Diontae Johnson held onto the football or the Steelers challenged that pass play in the back of the end zone. It would also be higher if Johnson had given better effort on Warren’s fumble, walking off the line at the snap and then refusing to even jump on a live football.
Bad look all around from the receiver.
But he bounced back in a big way. Johnson finished with four receptions for 50 yards, including a big 39-yarder down the sideline from Pickett in the second quarter. He then had a key third-down conversion in the second half on a crossing route, running away from coverage to move the chains.
George Pickens had a really solid showing, too, and avoided injury after getting the wind knocked out of him on a deep ball that he dove for. Pickens bounced back with a 43-yard catch on the next series on a slot fade and finished with three receptions for 58 yards in the win.
Allen Robinson II had one catch for 11 yards, and I thought he had a really strong day as a blocker. He had a block on a Warren run that sprang the running back for nine yards. He’s really come on strong in recent weeks as a blocker.
Calvin Austin III had one catch for five yards, but it was a big one, moving the chains.
TE — A+
Take a bow, Pat Freiermuth.
Freiermuth broke out in a big way Sunday, hauling in a career-high nine receptions for 120 yards, stretching the seam consistently and being a steady option for Kenny Pickett over the middle. After rarely being utilized in the passing game when healthy this season, the change at offensive coordinator sparked Freiermuth, who was a key part of the passing attack Sunday, putting together a monster day.
Darnell Washington had one catch for 10 yards in the win, dragging defenders with him to move the chains on a short completion inside the numbers. He was a key blocker, too, engulfing defenders throughout the day. He had a key block on Harris’ 5-yard touchdown, too.
Connor Heyward had two catches for 11 yards in the win, too, though his receptions largely came on checkdowns where he wasn’t able to do too much after the catch.
OL — B
After having an up-and-down performance against the Cleveland Browns in Week 11, the Steelers’ offensive line had a strong day Sunday against the Bengals.
The Steelers allowed just two sacks and five quarterback hits on the afternoon, ran for 133 yards and largely kept Pickett upright to pick apart the Bengals’ defense.
Dan Moore Jr. had a decent day against Trey Hendrickson in pass protection. Hendrickson did have a sack in the game, but he was unblocked on the play and Pickett nearly spun out of it.
Broderick Jones had some good reps throughout the game, though he was called for a hold in the second half. Center Mason Cole had a strong game in the run game — again. He’s really been putting together some strong showings in the run game recently.
DL — B+
The Steelers’ defensive line came into Sunday’s matchup needing to affect the game far better than it had in recent weeks.
Mission accomplished.
Cameron Heyward looked as good as he has all season, recording four tackles, a sack, one tackle for loss and a quarterback hit. He generated a handful of pressures on the day, muddying the pocket for Jake Browning, making life difficult for the Bengals’ quarterback making his first NFL start. Heyward controlled the line of scrimmage against the run, too, making life difficult for the Bengals, who rushed for just 25 yards on the day.
Keeanu Benton turned in some good snaps, recording two tackles, while Larry Ogunjobi did a nice job of controlling the line of scrimmage against the run, too, and batted a pass at the line of scrimmage. Positive day overall from the guys up front.
LB — B+
Heck of a day for T.J. Watt. Two sacks, five tackles, one tackle for loss and two quarterback hits. He did have a bad roughing-the-passer penalty on a play he just doesn’t need to make, but overall was quite impactful. One of his sacks was a strip-sack, too. He also had a nice moment in coverage, making a great play in space on a short throw.
Alex Highsmith doesn’t have the stats to show for it, but he gave Cincinnati left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. fits. Highsmith had just one tackle, but he was generating pressure consistently, forcing quick throws and helping Heyward generate his sack. He remains a force.
Nick Herbig had an impressive sack, going from dropping into coverage to being shot out of a cannon to close and thump Browning in space for the sack. Great moment for the rookie.
Inside, Elandon Roberts was outstanding again. Six tackles, one tackle for loss, great communicator. He was all over the field. He’s thriving in his full-time role. Mykal Walker had some moments, too. He did a great job of tipping a pass in the first half, even with Ja’Marr Chase catching the tip and racing 31 yards. It was a great play in coverage by Walker, who finished with five tackles.
DB — B-
Trenton Thompson was once again one of the best defenders on the field for the Steelers. Second week in a row. He’s taking advantage of the opportunity provided to him. He made a crucial play in the win, picking off Browning deep in Pittsburgh territory. That takeaway ultimately led to the Steelers’ go-ahead touchdown from Najee Harris.
Thompson had five tackles on the day and really played well.
Damontae Kazee added five tackles, but he had a dropped interception that should have been a pick-six. He drove on the short route and had the ball go right through his hands. Frustrating.
Joey Porter Jr. got the tough assignment of shadowing Ja’Marr Chase. The rookie had a strong day. He allowed just two receptions for 36 yards against Chase and really locked down the star receiver. He had another penalty though, giving him nine on the season. He cleans up that portion of his game? Look out.
Chandon Sullivan had a woeful missed sack on Browning deep in Cincinnati territory. He came in free on a well-called blitz and was right there for the sack. He just missed. Browning then made a nice completion for a solid gain, and then Watt’s roughing the passer penalty tacked on 15 more yards. Huge swing in the game.
Special Teams — D
Chris Boswell was great. This grade isn’t about him. He drilled all three field goals and the Steelers’ lone extra point of the game. Pressley Harvin III was really good, too, averaging 43 yards per punt, downing two inside the 20-yard line with a long of 59 yards. He got no help from his coverage unit though.
Miles Boykin had a bad gaffe on Harvin’s first punt of the game, losing track of where he was on the field, going into the end zone and then trying to down the punt inside the 5-yard line. Then, Boykin fell on Harvin’s next punt. The punter dropped it just outside of the 10-yard line and gave the coverage unit a great opportunity to down the punt on a slow bounce. Nobody was home though.
There was a holding call on Mark Robinson and a holding call on Tariq Carpenter that pushed the Steelers back after good starting field positions, and then there was the puzzling call to pooch kick to Trayveon Williams, which led to a 46-yard kickoff return from the Bengals’ return man.
Ugly day from special teams.
