Analysis: Bengals fail to do anything well in blowout loss to Steelers

PITTSBURGH – The stage was set for the Cincinnati Bengals to get within a game of the AFC North lead on Nov. 16 at Acrisure Stadium when quarterback Joe Burrow returned to practice earlier in the week. Burrow’s return and a weekend off was supposed to be the recipe to fix all of the Bengals’ issues. Instead, the Bengals lost 34-12 to the Steelers and the season is all but over now that team is 3-7. “It’s really frustrating and disappointing and not what we expected on our end, but it’s what we did,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said following the game. A win against the Steelers would have kept the Bengals in the thick of the AFC North chase. Now, the Bengals are three games behind the Steelers (6-4) and still have to play the Baltimore Ravens (5-5) twice. The AFC North title will come down to the Steelers or the Ravens likely claiming the title. Cincinnati will likely miss the playoffs again. If the Bengals do miss the postseason again, it will be for the third consecutive season. Bengals’ ownership will be faced with some tough decisions to make following the season. Bengals coach Zac Taylor faces scrutiny over game management in fourth quarter The Bengals were down 20-9 at the start of the fourth quarter. Emotions were running high at this point in the game between Pittsburgh defensive back Jalen Ramsey and Cincinnati wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase. Facing a 3rd-and-1, the Bengals ran a play for Kendall Milton for no gain. Taylor opted to use one of his three timeouts before deciding whether to go for it on 4th-and-1. It was questionable to use a timeout. The Bengals were gifted an automatic first down when Ramsey was disqualified from the game for unsportsmanlike conduct for an interaction with Chase, so the timeout was essentially burned for no reason. Taylor defended his decision to call a timeout on 4th-and-1 following the game. “To try to get them to jump,” Taylor said of why he took a timeout. “It’s a tough call; they are a tough short-yardage unit to go against. Yeah, the decision was worth criticizing, but we felt that was an opportunity and it didn’t work out.” Cincinnati ran one play, and it was a pass to tight end Noah Fant for five yards getting the Bengals to the 29-yard line. Taylor then called another timeout, his second on that possession. The Bengals ran three more plays before a delay of game penalty was called on the Bengals, moving them back five yards. On the ensuing play, Flacco missed an opportunity to connect with Tee Higgins and the Bengals were held to just three points. The Bengals ran six plays, used two timeouts and ran three minutes off the clock and lost a yard before having to kick a field goal. This sequence of events hurt the Bengals because they didn't get within one score and burned two timeouts in a must-win situation on the road. “It got loud,” Taylor said. “The communication became a problem on one of the timeouts, so your choice is to just stand there and run no play as you’re trying to figure it out with ten seconds on the play clock, so we called the timeout there. The delay of game was because it was hard to hear. It was challenging, it was a loud environment.” Bengals’ defense continues to not tackle opposition In Taylor’s opening statement following the loss in Pittsburgh, he admitted that the Steelers were the better tackling team and it’s one of the reasons they won. “They tackled better,” Taylor said. He’s right. The Steelers didn’t give up chunk plays as frequently as the Bengals did. Pittsburgh (343 total net yards) outgained Cincinnati (297) by 46 yards. Tackling continues to be the Bengals’ biggest deficiency on defense and no matter how much it appears to be stressed, it’s not improving. Taylor said he wasn’t planning to make any personnel changes despite the tackling issues following the loss. Cincinnati’s opening drive provided a glimpse of why the tackling issues are so detrimental. Pittsburgh running back Jalen Warren ripped off a 35-yard run on 2nd-and-4 and two plays later, the Steelers scored at touchdown. There were multiple displays of poor tackling and now the Bengals have set yet another NFL record on defense. The Bengals have given up 27 points in nine straight games, tying the Super Bowl era record set by the Los Angeles Chargers in 2020. Cincinnati is on pace to become the worst defense of all-time, and their lack of tackling is a big reason for it. Ja’Marr Chase, Jalen Ramsey incident will get the NFL’s attention Following the game, Ramsey was asked what led to him throwing a punch on Chase. Ramsey said Chase spit on the Steelers’ defensive back. Chase denied it when asked about the incident in Cincinnati’s locker room. A video of the altercation was released, and it showed Chase spitting on Ramsey. The NFL will investigate the matter and depending on what they decide, Chase could face a suspension from the league office for unsportsmanlike conduct. Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter was suspended one game for spitting on Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott earlier this year. Chase is a team captain for the Bengals and the team’s best player so losing him for a game would put the team in a bind as they look to snap a three-game losing streak.