One of the biggest problems plaguing the Cincinnati Bengals was front and center again during the first half of Monday night’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Bobby Hart on the right side and Andre Smith on the left were responsible for multiple drive-killing mistakes that forced the Bengals into an 10-3 deficit.
Early in the game, Hart let a pass rusher run free while double-teaming a different lineman and the sack ended up killing the drive. Later, he got beat and was flagged for illegal usage of his hands, hurting another drive.
As for Smith — admittedly a backup right tackle starting on the left side — he got beat badly near the endzone and Andy Dalton fumbled, a massive swing considering the score was 7-3 at the time.
At the half, the Bengals had 29 rushing yards on a 3.6 average and 99 passing yards with a two of six mark on third downs. Pittsburgh, with Mason Rudolph under center, put up 80 more yards of offense on just four more plays.
If Bengals coaches don’t find a way to compensate for these problems up front, the offense will have a hard time closing the gap and besting a team missing its starting quarterback.
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