On a day when the Pittsburgh Steelers needed the rest of the defense to step up, it just didn’t happen. Pittsburgh went into its game against the Cincinnati Bengals without its two best outside linebackers as T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith who were both out with groin injuries.
This was one of those games where the other stars on this defense needed to do more. Elevate the play of others and elevate their own play. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. We could sit here and break down the minutia of what went wrong but defensive tackle Cam Heyward probably said it best.
“We sucked today.”
That sums it up pretty well. Lots of missed tackles, missed assignments and overall just a lackluster effort but guys who want to be considered at the top of their position. Players like safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and linebackers Devin Bush and Joe Schobert are labeled as playmakers but looked lost without Watt on the field.
If this defense is only capable when they are at full strength is going to be a long season if the offense can’t show some improvement.
