Heading into this important division game, the Bengals were confident they could earn the series split with Pittsburgh after playing them tough three weeks ago. They eventually lost by a mere touchdown but felt overall they had matched the Steelers' toughness. Bolstering their faith was Pittsburgh’s less-than-stellar showing on Monday night against the Chiefs. Yet instead of evening their records at 8-4, the Bengals failed to capitalize on their opportunity to potentially steal the AFC North and now will almost certainly have to secure a wild card spot to reach the postseason.
The Steelers' offense didn’t quite dominate as much as the final score indicates. They did put together a couple of long drives and cashed in on some big plays to jump out to a 21-0 lead and the Pittsburgh defense didn’t allow the Bengals to get back in the game. Pittsburgh's special teams deserve much of the credit with Antonio Brown (+1.2) returning a punt 60 yards for a touchdown and Stevenson Sylvester knocking the ball out of Brandon Tate’s hands on a kickoff to give Pittsburgh a short field. The Steelers set the tone for the game when Cameron Heyward blocked a 33-yard field goal early in the first quarter.
Neither team was particularly effective at sustaining drives over the long haul—outside of their four touchdown drives, the Steelers barely moved the ball—and combined to make four of 21 potential third-down conversions. It was the setbacks that Cincinnati caused themselves that proved to be the difference here. This includes two turnovers, a a complete meltdown on special teams and 10 penalties for 109 yards. Let’s take a look at some of the performances that so greatly altered the final score in this game from the score three weeks ago.
Cincinnati – Three Performances of Note
Dinged-up Dalton
If Andy Dalton has a most-hated team, want to bet it’s the Steelers? The rookie quarterback has played beyond most expectations in his first season, but he struggled somewhat with Pittsburgh’s coverage schemes in their first meeting and graded out at -1.9. In the rematch, Dalton graded positively on only six passes while and grading negatively on seven, mostly due to overthrows. He didn’t find himself under pressure much but when the Steelers brought heat, Dalton was unable to complete a pass scrambling once and taking three sacks in seven drop-backs. Dalton was also unable to generate much of a vertical passing game completing just four of nine passes beyond 10 yards. If playing two subpar games in his first two starts against Pittsburgh wasn’t enough, Dalton also had to be pulled from the game in a preventative measure after two Steelers fell on him and injured his hip.
D-line has Off-Day Minus Dunlap
As highlighted in the recent Pass Rush Productivity article, nobody gets more pressure on a per-snap basis than Carlos Dunlap (+23.4 pass rush). Dunlap has missed the last two games after re-aggravating a hamstring injury and his production hasn’t been easy to replace for the Bengals. Before the game, head coach Marvin Lewis told Michael Johnson (+1.3) that he needed to have a big game if they were going to win and did it in front of all his teammates. Johnson responded with his first sack since Week 6 and four stops in all. Geno Atkins (+1.2) was his usual interior pass rush threat and collected three pressure. The rest of the defensive line struggled with the increased workload in Dunlap’s absence, not to mention the respect he commands from opposing blocking schemes. Every other player that took snaps on the defensive line graded negatively, with Jonathan Fanene (-3.3) turning in the worst grade on the back of a missed tackle, only one pressure, and a penalty.
Secondary Succumbs to Big Plays
Without both opening-day starting cornerbacks in this game, the Bengals had to contend with a very talented Steelers wide receiver corps with Kelly Jennings and Adam Jones manning the corners. Jennings helped break up a long pass to Antonio Brown on third down in the fourth quarter but allowed the other six balls thrown his way to be completed. He was responsible for both Mike Wallace touchdowns and has given up a 95.8 or worse quarterback rating in five of his last six games. Jones made some big plays including jarring the ball loose with a big hit over the middle on Wallace at 8:42 remaining in the first quarter. He also missed a tackle of Isaac Redman (+1.3) that generated significant extra yardage and the one completion he allowed was Brown’s 45-yard catch and run. The safeties didn’t help make filling in any easier for the cornerbacks with Chris Crocker (-2.7) and Reggie Nelson (-1.1) both grading negatively.
Pittsburgh – Three Performances of Note
Complementary Ground Game
While the highlight plays will mostly include pass plays and the punt return touchdown, the Steelers’ ability to keep drives going with their ground game was just as important. The team picked up nine first downs running the ball as Rashard Mendenhall (+1.1) and Isaac Redman (+1.3) complemented each other well. Mendenhall didn’t have a single negatively-graded run and made a great cut to score his second touchdown after a pitch led him into a swarm of defenders. Redman didn’t have a negatively-graded run either and brought a steadiness that allowed the Steelers to preserve their lead. Redman also had the more impressive game running the ball despite Mendenhall’s touchdowns as he was able to force three missed tackles and make the most of those opportunities for extra yardage. He gained 44 of 51 yards after contact—probably the highest percentage you’ll see this year.
Making the Most of Limited Pressure
The Steelers finally got Lamarr Woodley back this week, but he re-injured his hamstring and had to sit out after only 13 snaps. Woodley mentioned on Monday that he anticipates rotating with Jason Worilds (-1.3) for the rest of the year to better his chances of keeping that hamstring healthy. If Worilds continues to play like he did against the Bengals, that isn’t good news. Worilds didn’t manage a single pressure in 23 pass-rush attempts and more than once was taken out of a play due to an ineffective spin move. Fortunately, others were capable of picking of the slack. The Steelers only pressured Dalton on seven drop-backs, but three of those resulted in sacks from James Harrison (+2.5) who logged his second game with a trio of sacks on the year. On another occasion, Brett Keisel (+3.9) nearly pulled Dalton down for a safety in his highest graded game of the season. Pittsburgh didn’t get a whole lot of pressure, but when they did, they drastically affected the play and forced Dalton to complete a whopping zero passes under pressure.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly for Ike Taylor
Ike Taylor has been a challenge to evaluate this season. Does he get enough credit for matching up against opponents’ top receivers, as he did here against A.J. Green? Does he gets too much credit for his highly publicized—in Pittsburgh at least—lack of big plays given up? Taylor (-1.5) did nothing to ease the challenge in this game, making some big plays that would support the idea that he’s a top cornerback but also having some mishaps that show he’s not quite there. Taylor was able to defend a couple of quick, high throws to Green successfully, once in the end zone and flattened the rookie receiver at 10:26 remaining in fourth quarter to force another incompletion. He also picked-off a pass. The good was outweighed by the bad though, as Taylor was unable to keep track of Green in the end zone on the Bengals’ sole scoring play. He was also the victim of Green’s 43-yard reception on the Bengals' first drive. The catch was the longest Taylor has given up in 2011 and the touchdown was the second he’s allowed on the season. “The ugly” comes in the form of a personal foul when Taylor got in a brief fight with Jerome Simpson (-2.1), who was held without a reception.
Games Notes
– Ben Roethlisberger (+4.0) completed five passes in nine drop-backs under pressure for 57 yards and a touchdown.
– There were seven three-and-outs between the two teams and two other drives netted less than 15 yards before the punt. Additionally, the Bengals gained only ten yards before Taylor’s interception, bringing the grand total of non-scoring drives of less than fifteen yards to ten.
– Anthony Collins (+2.0) came in for an injured Andre Smith midway through the second quarter and was perfect in pass protection.
PFF Game Ball
Brett Keisel made plays in the run game and rushing the passer. In a game lacking any exceptional individual performances, his balanced effort was just enough to edge out Harrison’s three sacks.
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