Ugly might not be a strong enough word to describe the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense in their 33-31 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday Night Football. But offensively, there were some bright spots, namely the performance of RB Jaylen Warren and QB Aaron Rodgers’ four touchdown passes. Warren and Rodgers were among Pittsburgh’s highest-graded players by Pro Football Focus, while defensively, PFF gave high marks to Nick Herbig and Cameron Heyward, and low marks to the majority of the cornerback room.
PRO FOOTBALL FOCUS OFFENSIVE GRADES VS. BENGALS
1. RB Jaylen Warren (87.6)
2. OG Isaac Seumalo (78.4)
3. QB Aaron Rodgers (76.8)
4. TE Pat Freiermuth (75.8)
5. WR Scotty Miller (72.9)
PRO FOOTBALL FOCUS DEFENSIVE GRADES VS BENGALS
1. OLB Nick Herbig (90.4)
2. DL Cameron Heyward (89.6)
3. LB Cole Holcomb (83.0)
4. CB Brandin Echols (78.8)
5. DL Derrick Harmon (77.7)
Miller only played seven snaps on offense, and, counting only players who played 20 or more snaps, TE Darnell Washington (70.6) would’ve made the top five.
It’s worth noting that it wasn’t the entire secondary that struggled. Echols graded well as did safeties Chuck Clark and Juan Thornhill, with a 73.6 and 67.8 grade, respectively. For the rest of the secondary, it was bad. DeShon Elliott’s 55.8 mark was the next highest after Thornhill. Joey Porter Jr. (50.9), Jalen Ramsey (43.0), and Darius Slay (29.6) were among Pittsburgh’s lowest-graded players, along with OLB Jack Sawyer (36.4) and LB Patrick Queen (34.8).
The defense was bad, and the grades reflect it. PFF only charged Ramsey with allowing five receptions for 62 yards, but he was responsible for one of the biggest catches of the game, as Tee Higgins beat him for the dagger to set up the game-winning field goal. Porter had multiple holding penalties, Slay got beat by Andrei Iosivas on a deep ball, let a ball he should’ve intercepted bounce off his face, and was a mess in coverage pretty much all night.
The Steelers’ run defense was awful, too, but both Heyward and Harmon graded well against the run. Harmon led the team with an 87.8 run-defense grade, while Heyward’s was 67.9. PFF put the onus on Keeanu Benton (39.4 run-defense grade) and Queen (46.1) for the Steelers’ struggles against the run. Benton has been the culprit for Pittsburgh’s run defense struggles, and that returned again on Thursday night.
One thing that’s worth questioning: why did Nick Herbig only play 29 snaps? He’s been Pittsburgh’s best pass rusher this season, and he played 50 snaps against the Browns last Sunday. Cutting his snaps as much as the Steelers did, especially with him playing well, doesn’t make much sense.
Defensively, there’s really not much positive to take away from the Bengals game. Offensively, Jaylen Warren was a stud and his grade reflects that. Rodgers was good, the tight ends were great, especially TE Pat Freiermuth in a huge bounce-back game for him. If the offense can continue to play the way it did, the Steelers could be in good shape. But the defense has to figure things out, and its ability to do so is a major question mark right now.
