The Cincinnati Bengals didn’t win at much of anything Monday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers en route to 0-4 after a 27-3 loss.
Cincinnati blew some early chances and then fell apart, particularly along the offensive line as the unit coughed up eight sacks. The offense produced just 175 yards.
Here’s a rundown of the winners and losers from the primetime letdown.
Winner: Nick Vigil
Vigil forced a fumble in the first quarter and it isn’t his fault the offense couldn’t do better than a field goal after starting with outstanding field position. He finished with 11 tackles, a team-high.
Loser: Tyler Eifert
Early in the first, Eifert worked his defender on a fade and had a touchdown bounce off his hand. It had been a frustrating start to his season after clearly being on a snap count and used to help the offensive line. He only managed two catches for 27 yards on five targets.
Loser: Bobby Hart
Hart killed the offense’s first drive when he chose to help double team a lineman and let a pass rusher run free for a sack. Designed or not, it looked bad and about in line with what Hart has shown over the years. He later had a bad penalty that hurt a drive and was routinely beat most of the night before another flag late.
Loser: Andy Dalton
Dalton was fine on the opening drive but while pressured later, fired off a ball that should have been picked off. Call it a sign. Dalton was erratic the rest of the way, trying to force balls he shouldn’t be throwing. He was brutally beat up while suffering eight sacks, so that has to enter the conversation. But his poor pocket presence from the week prior remained. He finished with 21 completions on 37 attempts for 171 yards and a pick.
Loser: John Ross
Ross made a ridiculous catch in the second quarter, extending over the middle and moving the chains. But with any Ross catch, there was a feeling it could be a 50-50 result. Right on cue — he dropped a pass in the third quarter that was right off his hands. He finished with three catches.
Winner: Brandon Wilson
Wilson had a huge play in the first half, coming around the edge for a big fourth-down stop. While some of this falls on a sheer whiff by the Steelers, the fact he’s showing up is a good sign — for him and the defense. Speedier guys who can cover to the sidelines are a must.
Loser: Preston Brown
Brown had some problems in the middle and especially stood out in a bad way in the third quarter while giving up a big gain. That pass eventually snowballed into a touchdown that made it 17-3.
Winner: Joe Mixon
A week ago, Mixon flashed some of that explosive running that lifted him to the AFC rushing crown. Monday night, he didn’t have a ton of room thanks to the line and wasn’t making something from nothing like the week prior. Somehow, he still mustered a 4.1 average on 15 carries for 62 yards.
Loser: Zac Taylor
It’s getting close to being time to have this conversation. Taylor was thoroughly outcoached and didn’t have an answer when the Steelers started putting new looks they didn’t’ show on film out there. The offensive line is a problem, but an offensive-minded coach needs to find better ways to compensate — the Steelers were scheming Mason Rudolph into a successful day without much of an issue.
