Clearly, the Steelers’ defense was the biggest culprit in the club’s 33-31 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals Thursday night. It allowed 470 yards, including a ghastly 142 on the ground against the NFL’s worst rushing attack.
Not to mention 258 yards on 22 receptions and two scores to Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase, two receivers the team had in mind when it revamped the entire secondary this offseason.
Gee, that worked out great on the first try, huh?
But, as the recently departed Ace Frehley once wrote for Kiss, there are “Two Sides of the Coin.”
Indeed, the Steelers’ offense did enough to win that game. But that side of the ball isn’t without fault for losing it.
In this week’s edition of “Friday Football Footnotes,” we look at the issues Arthur Smith’s unit ran into during Thursday’s Steelers’ defeat.
• In our “Airing of Grievances” this week, we ripped the Steelers defense for failing to create a turnover (and just two sacks) over the course of 72 Bengals snaps from scrimmage.
Meanwhile, the Steelers had two turnovers. Aaron Rodgers threw four touchdowns, but he also had a bad interception when he just chucked an overthrown deep ball to a covered DK Metcalf.
PICKED OFF IN PRIMETIME ‼️
????: #PITvsCIN on @NFLonPrime pic.twitter.com/tDhKtrC8Ej
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) October 17, 2025
Then Metcalf — one of the most physical receivers in football — lost a reception when defensive back D.J. Turner wrangled the ball away from him.
This play was reviewed…
And it revealed an INSANE pick by DJ Turner II. Bengals ball!
PITvsCIN on Prime Video
Also streaming on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/TANxTS75LK— NFL (@NFL) October 17, 2025
Great play by Turner. But Metcalf has to secure that ball. It would have given the Steelers possession at the Cincinnati 44-yard line with 43 seconds left in the second quarter. Maybe they get a Chris Boswell field goal try out of the possession, or more.
Instead, the Bengals turned the pick into a field goal of their own before halftime to make the score 17-10.
• That miscue aside, the Steelers didn’t get the ball to Metcalf enough. He only had three catches, five targets and 50 yards on the night. One reception accounted for 39 yards alone.
• The wide receivers, aside from Metcalf, were essentially non-existent again. Roman Wilson had a big third-down catch for 13 yards. It extended a touchdown drive. He also had a catch nullified by a Broderick Jones hold.
But aside from those moments, Wilson, Scotty Miller, Ben Skowronek and Ke’Shawn Williams combined for just two more catches for only 13 yards.
• A pair of first-half penalties on the offensive linemen were costly. Zach Frazier had a holding penalty that wiped out a Jaylen Warren touchdown, and Mason McCormick’s false start nullified a Tush Push first down on fourth-and-1.
Those moments happened on the same drive. The sequence ended in a Chris Boswell field goal.
And, please, stop complaining about that McCormick call. It was the right call. I know, I know. The Eagles never get flagged for doing that.
You’re right. You’re also looking at the wrong thing. Your point is valid. It’s also irrelevant.
Related
• Airing of Grievances: Lousy Steelers defense manifests Mike Tomlin’s fears about Joe Flacco
• Steelers cornerbacks smarting after Bengals receivers have their way against them
• Joe Flacco, Bengals knock off Steelers with last-second field goal
• This isn’t a big complaint. It’s more a point of discussion. Should they have run Warren more? I think so.
I get it. Rodgers wasn’t sacked. He threw four touchdowns. He averaged 7.3 yards per attempt. But Warren was motoring. He had 127 yards and averaged 7.9 yards per carry.
Maybe Rodgers gunning the ball down the field on the first play of the series after Cincy scored its first touchdown was a time to establish a drive with Warren instead of looking for a deep shot.
• Don’t blame Pat Freiermuth for failing to take a knee going into the end zone with just over two minutes left. I’ve received that complaint a few times.
That made the score 31-30. The Steelers needed a TD there. Not a field goal. It’s not the same thing as what Higgins did to ice the game by setting up a field goal on the next possession.
If you want to blame the Steelers for something in terms of fourth-quarter management, blame them for that putrid three-and-out down 30-24 that gave the Bengals the ball back on a punt with 5:26 left to go.
To reiterate, this loss is 90% on the defense. I’m just giving you the other 10% for when your buddy at the bar tries to tell you how good the Steelers offense is, and how it’s going to be no problem to sweep Green Bay, Indianapolis and the Los Angeles Chargers over the next three weeks.
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via X. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
