After a crushing loss that essentially ends their faint playoff hopes, Cincinnati Bengals LB Germaine Pratt offered mostly quick answers. Which was appropriate given he thinks all the Pittsburgh Steelers could do against them was the quick game.
Speaking to reporters following the Bengals’ 44-38 loss, Pratt seemed to downplay the Steelers’ success in a game where Pittsburgh posted over 500 total yards and 44 points.
“I just think they were getting the ball out quick,” Pratt told reporters after the game via Fox 19’s Joe Danneman. “Quick game, screen game. That’s all it was.”
Pittsburgh came out with a short-game approach as the Bengals mixed between blitzing and taking away throws over the top. RB Najee Harris caught a screen on the team’s first drive for seven yards. After the Bengals’ pick-six, the Steelers’ offense again marched downfield and tied the game at seven thanks to WR George Pickens’ 17-yard score.
When the Bengals didn’t send extra people, they typically played a soft and loose coverage, allowing Wilson to hit RBs Najee Harris, Jaylen Warren, and Cordarrelle Patterson underneath. Combined, they caught 13 passes for nearly 150 yards.
The Steelers consistently seemed to be one step ahead. But that didn’t seem to make much of an impression on Pratt.
“They weren’t doing too much,” he said. “They were just getting the ball out quick.”
He was unable to explain why the Bengals were unable to adjust or slow down the Steelers’ quick game.
Late in the game, Cincinnati called Cover 0, an all-out blitz. On 3rd and 9 with 6:30 remaining, the Bengals brought the house. QB Russell Wilson hit WR Van Jefferson for a 43-yard gain, a big conversion that chewed up more clock and allowed the Steelers to eventually add their 44th points of the game as K Chris Boswell connected on his third field goal. Pittsburgh needed all the scoring it could get, holding off an attempted Bengals comeback.
“We went zero and they threw quick,” Pratt said of the Jefferson play. “Ball was quick. It wasn’t that much.”
Germaine Pratt also downplayed the number of missed tackles the Bengals had. Perhaps it wasn’t a central reason to their defensive struggles but there were several missed, including by Pratt himself on a catch and run by Warren midway through the game.
Without top linebacker Logan Wilson, Pratt became the Bengals’ No. 1 off-ball linebacker. He finished the game with 13 total tackles, though only five of them were solo.
“Ball was out quick. That’s all it was,” he said.
During their Week 12 bye, Pratt promised a victory over the Steelers. His unit couldn’t deliver, dropping Cincinnati to 4-8 on the season. It’s the fourth time this season the Bengals have scored 30-plus points and lost, now 2-4 in such contests.
Pratt can harp on how quick the Steelers’ passing game was all he wants. Pittsburgh had a great game plan and executed. Cincinnati didn’t. Now, the only thing quick in Cincinnati is how early the Bengals’ season ended.
