Things were looking promising for the Pittsburgh Steelers entering Week 7. They were sitting at 4-1, coming off a beatdown of the Cleveland Browns in their AFC North opener, and their health was starting to come around, too.
They appeared poised to go on a bit of a run, especially with a quick turnaround for Thursday Night Football against the Cincinnati Bengals presenting an opportunity to extend their lead within the AFC North.
And then, it all came crashing down in a 33-31 loss to the Bengals. Now, the Steelers have more questions than answers moving forward as they enter a tough stretch of games in the next three weeks against the Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Chargers.
For former NFL linebacker and current ESPN analyst Bart Scott, who appeared on Get Up Friday morning, the loss proves that the Steelers’ 4-2 record isn’t what it looks to be.
“I mean, we knew that this was a soft 4-2. They should have lost to the Jets,” Scott said of the Steelers, according to video via ESPN. “You talk about being outscored in a lot of games that they won — or outrushed, outgained — they were able to get five turnovers against the Patriots. This just brings them back to the pack.”
Calling it a soft 4-2 seems a bit unfair, and quite a bit of revisionist history from Scott. Sure, the defense was bad against the New York Jets in the opener, but the offense scored 34 points. They won the game, that’s all that matters. There’s no almost losing in sports. That’s called a win.
Same for the Patriots game. Yes, the Steelers were outplayed, but they forced five turnovers and won the game. Then, they went and handled business internationally in Dublin against the Minnesota Vikings and dominated the Cleveland Browns.
On a short week in AFC North action, anything can happen. It was an ugly game for the Steelers, primarily on defense. If Pittsburgh doesn’t turn the football over via two Aaron Rodgers interceptions, does the offense roll up enough points to win that game? Most likely.
But the Steelers didn’t lose in Cincinnati due to turnovers. They had no answers for Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, and with Joe Flacco getting the ball out quickly, the pass rush was nonexistent. The highest-paid defense in football couldn’t stop the run, couldn’t get after Flacco, and couldn’t cover anybody.
Sometimes, that happens. It’s not an excuse, either. This is the NFL. Sure, there can be plenty of frustration with the coaching and the game plan defensively, but the Bengals are paid to make plays, too. And they did.
The Bengals loss can’t be used to define the Steelers one way or another. They were playing good football before it, and stuff happens on Thursday night football. That’s across the league, too.
Now, it’s a chance to regroup and get back on track in an upcoming tough stretch of games.
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