The Pittsburgh Steelers have experienced trouble in the past covering the vaunted Cincinnati Bengals receiving corps. But with a secondary built to do a better job slowing down Ja’Marr Chase and the Bengals, the Steelers secondary perhaps had its worst performance ever against Cincinnati.
Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco threw for 342 yards and three touchdowns Thursday. He averaged 7.3 yards per pass and didn’t turn the ball over once.
Chase set a franchise record with 16 catches on 23 targets. The No. 1 Bengals receiver posted 161 receiving yards with a score while Tee Higgins also had 96 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Chase suggested to reporters after the game the Bengals offense experienced success because of the defensive philosophy the Steelers used.
“They did exactly what we was expecting and hoping they’d do,” said Chase.
The All-Pro wideout added more later in his press conference.
“We knew they were going to put Joey [Porter Jr.] on Tee [Higgins] and Jalen [Ramsey] on me,” Chase said. “We knew that, we were ready for it, and we were going to take advantage of those opportunities.”
Behind Chase’s record night, the Bengals knocked off the Steelers 33-31 in Week 7.
Steelers Couldn’t Cover Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase, Bengals Receivers
Cincinnati has too many elite pass-catching weapons to double cover all of them. To have success against the Bengals, a defense has to win in single coverage against one of Cincinnati’s receivers.
The Steelers couldn’t find a formula where one of their defensive backs could cover any Bengals receiver in single coverage.
Pittsburgh deployed the defensive strategy Chase described to begin the game. But the Steelers also tried other matchups.
On the final drive, Jalen Ramsey was in coverage on Higgins when he hauled in the reception that led to the game-winning field goal. On a different play earlier in the game, depth cornerback Brandin Echols was in coverage on Chase.
When the Steelers double covered both Chase and Higgins, other Bengals pass-catchers took advantage of one-on-one chances. Andrei Iosivas beat Darius Slay for a 37-yard catch in the third quarter.
Nothing worked for the Steelers secondary, especially the original game plan.
Steelers Will Host Bengals in November
It’s never a good thing when an opponent says a team did exactly what they thought they would. It’s an even bigger indictment when an opponent admits that the team deployed a strategy they wanted them to.
The Steelers will have to introduce a different game plan for Chase and company to have more success in the rematch. The Bengals will visit Pittsburgh on November 16.
Generating more of a pass rush would help. The Steelers had two sacks, but Flacco had a comfortable pocket throughout Thursday night.
Without any pressure, the Steelers couldn’t create any splash plays. After the game, edge rusher T.J. Watt implied with how poorly the team defended, it was crucial to get takeaways, which the team also didn’t do.
The Steelers defense has gone two consecutive games without a takeaway. Pittsburgh had a minus-2 turnover margin Thursday.
To generate more of a pass rush, the Steelers have to do a better job against the run. The Bengals ran for a season-high 142 yards Thursday.
Chase, Higgins and the Bengals pass catchers are a difficult test for every NFL team. But the Steelers failed the test miserably Thursday.
According to Chase, their game plan was part of why.
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