Same Old Steelers Fall to Bengals On Thursday Night Football

The Pittsburgh Steelers fell to 4-2 after a 33-31 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday Night Football (TNF). In a shootout between two 40+ year old quarterbacks, Joe Flacco’s team came out victorious thanks to a late field goal from Evan McPherson after the veteran quarterback led his offense down the field. On a night where the Steelers could have moved to 5-1 to gain a significant lead over the second place Bengals, as well as the 1-5 Baltimore Ravens, Mike Tomlin’s men let not only the now 3-4 Bengals back in with a chance at the division title, but also the Ravens, who will see Lamar Jackson return after their bye week. A road division loss on a short week isn’t necessarily something to be ashamed off, but the manner in which this one took place shows that this Steelers team is no different than the others that have suffered playoff or regular season failure since Tomlin’s last postseason win in January of 2017.

Before the negatives of this game are highlighted, of which there are many, let’s look at the positives, all of which belong to the offensive side of the ball. First of all, Aaron Rodgers is clearly not the problem for the Steelers, despite many thinking he may be before this season. While Rodgers did have two interceptions in this game, and certainly isn’t the MVP he used to be, he still is leading an offense that looks much better than any Pittsburgh attack since 2018 and is playing at a higher level than any quarterback on the team since 2018.

Arthur Smith has developed a strong looking group which, while limited in its play calling at times, is beginning to master plays with heavy sets of two or three tight ends. Along with that, Pittsburgh’s run game is starting to look stronger as well, and the offensive line is showing improvement each week. Although, despite this being a strong game offensively, it must be taken with a pinch of salt given Cincinnati’s lacklustre defense, which was missing its best player in Trey Hendrickson. Still though, a good night offensively, despite a few mistakes.

On the other side of the ball, there is nothing to be positive about from that game. The Steelers’ defensive unit was bullied all night long by the Bengals’ attack. Cincinnati came into this game with by far the worst rushing attack in the league, but by the end of the night Chase Brown had over 100 yards off of just 11 carries. One would think that would be the most embarrassing moment of Pittsburgh’s night, but they would be wrong.

Ja’Marr Chase is arguably the NFL’s best receiver, but considering Mike Tomlin invested in bolstering the secondary this past offseason, with the acquisitions of Darius Slay and Jalen Ramsey, as well as DeShon Elliott’s extension, his group were embarrassed tonight. They allowed Chase 16 catches, a Bengals record, for 161 yards and a touchdown. A historic night for the former first round pick against Pittsburgh's new secondary.

When Pat Freiermuth took the ball to the house for a go-ahead 68-yard touchdown with 2 minutes and 21 seconds left, it looked as if we would be in for a dramatic ending. However, Pittsburgh’s defense, one of the highest paid defensive units in the league, didn’t even put up a fight on the last drive, making it quite anticlimactic for a neutral if anything. Two passes to Chase for 35 yards in total saw the Bengals get into field goal range straight away after their star receiver once again found himself wide open. Then, two plays later, Tee Higgins beat Jalen Ramsey down the sideline before sliding to give McPherson a chip-shot field goal to win the game. This defensive unit relies on splash plays but over the last two games they have forced zero turnovers against a rookie quarterback and a 40-year-old who has just started with his team.

The defensive problems from this game could be talked about for an endless amount of time, but the bigger issue is that this Steelers team is the same as it has always been. After a 4-1 start there was some hope that this team was different than the previous eight additions of the group, which have all either missed the playoffs, or been humiliated in their first crack at the postseason. But, once again, a Tomlin team was unprepared. Pittsburgh’s coach is now 2-9 in road games on TNF, and 0-7 against divisional opponents in that setting.

Before this game, many fans were thinking of the loss at the Browns last year, a game Pittsburgh should have won given their superiority of talent. They lost that one, collapsed to end the regular season, and were blown out in the wildcard round after losing a lead in the AFC North race. This year, they lose another road game to a divisional opponent on a short week, an opponent they are much more talented than, especially given Joe Flacco had been in the Bengals’ building for no more than 10 days. The Steelers may still win the AFC North but is there a potential playoff team in the conference who fans can honestly say they would feel comfortable going against in the postseason, even at home? Road TNF games are a test of good coaching and proper preparation, and playoff games are the same. Tomlin has a disastrous record in the former, and in the latter his defensive unit has been embarrassed in their last six outings.

This team is the same as it has been for the past seven years. The 2025 Steelers had a chance to prove they were different to the teams that have failed before them. A commanding win against a divisional opponent on a short week would have been a statement that adversity does not impact this group. Instead, the defense was embarrassed against a 40-year-old backup quarterback in a game where they showed no fight whatsoever. Next up is a tough matchup against the Green Bay Packers, will anyone be shocked if the Steelers head into that matchup unprepared?