There’s no way to sugarcoat it. The Steelers are coming off another soul-crushing loss. Making matters worse, Sunday’s bout against the Chargers was another lopsided defeat on primetime. That means there were millions of eyes on the Steelers’ latest episode of dysfunction, and thus even more of the same old discussions and jokes around the water cooler and family get-togethers: “What’s gone wrong with the Steelers?”
If you’ve been reading our column, you already know where Read & React stands on this. There isn’t just one singular issue causing all of our grief, but rather a mixture of collective misfires and a stubborn organizational aversion to change. Whether you think the largest share of the blame belongs with the players, the coaching staff, or the front office, you’re at least partially right.
Read & React has also been pretty consistent about our expectations for the Steelers this season. They aren’t serious championship contenders, but they still have enough talent to compete for a playoff spot. Another bad loss doesn’t change our assessment of what we already knew would be a volatile team, based on its roster build and recent team history.
With eight games remaining, the playoffs are still very much in play. The room for error has never been tighter, though.
The Ravens quickly shrank the Steelers’ division lead and still have two games against Pittsburgh on deck. Baltimore is among nine other AFC teams that either trail the Steelers by just one game or have a better record presently.
As a reminder, there are seven playoff spots. If the Steelers don’t win the division, they’ll be competing with five other teams for the final three spots.
The Steelers’ remaining schedule still has four division games, the Lions, Bears, Bills, and Dolphins.
One could argue bottoming out and missing the playoffs might be better for the Steelers in the long term, but that’s a discussion for another day. We can question the heart of this roster, but they won’t be intentionally trying to lose.
So rather than focus on what went wrong Sunday night – which is a lot of the same things that have been wrong the past several seasons – we’ll instead look for the few bright spots that were present in Sunday’s game. We’ll also review our previous notes about the Bengals as the Steelers prepare to face them for the second time this year.
Sunday’s loss was an ugly one – what are some bright spots worth highlighting instead?
Dublin , Ireland - 28 September 2025; Cornerback James Pierre #42 of Pittsburgh Steelers during the 2025 NFL International Game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Minnesota Vikings at Croke Park in Dublin. (Photo By Seb Daly/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
Dublin , Ireland - 28 September 2025; Cornerback James Pierre #42 of Pittsburgh Steelers during the 2025 NFL International Game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Minnesota Vikings at Croke Park in Dublin. (Photo By Seb Daly/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
Sportsfile via Getty Images
RB: I’ll start with a more obvious one: the Steelers’ three-headed monster at outside linebacker has been thriving in recent weeks.
Pittsburgh has recorded 10 sacks over the last two weeks, with seven coming from the combination of T.J. Watt, Nick Herbig, and Alex Highsmith.
Pittsburgh has given Herbig 30-plus snaps in each of the last two weeks, and the results have been good. Herbig continues to have the best pressure rate (15.2%) of Steelers with 100-plus pass rush snaps this year, and his increased usage – especially in three-OLB packages on passing downs – has been a treat to watch and a challenge for opposing offensive lines.
But Highsmith has been the biggest star, with four sacks over the last two weeks.
While the Chargers game was an expected good matchup for the Pittsburgh defense, the Colts’ O-line has been one of the best in the league this season, and Highsmith and co. still dominated in Week 9.
The Steelers’ pass rush hasn’t always lived up to expectations this season, but they’ve definitely heated up now that the Pittsburgh secondary is starting to do a better job at clamping down on short routes.
The Pittsburgh sack leaderboard is starting to match the depth and talent at the position. Watt is in front with six, but Highsmith and Herbig close behind with 5.5 each. It should be a fun race to watch this season.
But telling you the Steeler outside linebacker room has been great recently isn’t really saying much you don’t already know. Thus, my main focus for this category is Steelers cornerback James Pierre, who just won’t stop impressing when he gets in the defensive lineup.
Pierre has always been talented, but his football career got off to a rocky start when he was declared academically ineligible in his freshman season at Syracuse in 2016. That came after he was denied admission to his previous commitment, North Carolina, due to concerns about his high school class attendance (This was UNC bracing for an academic fraud investigation).
A defensive back who received offers from bigger schools such as Wisconsin, Tennessee, and Miami out of high school, Pierre eventually settled at the smaller Florida Atlantic University, where he went on to be a Conference USA honorable mention after a three-interception 2019.
At the combine, Pierre ran a 4.59-second 40-yard dash at 6’0, 183 pounds, and eventually ended up as a member of the Steelers’ 2020 undrafted free agent class. Ahead of the draft, NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein noted that Pierre had “good size and length, but lacks the fundamentals needed to compete at the NFL level right now.”
And as Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said when praising Pierre in Tuesday’s press conference, the young corner picked a tough year to enter the NFL: “If you remember, man, (Pierre) was an undrafted Covid guy,” Tomlin said. “I think, globally, it was single-digit guys that made rosters undrafted that Covid year, and he’s been one of them. I didn’t meet him until we reported to camp.”
During his time in the pros, Pierre has seen sporadic defensive playing time as a reserve cornerback, but largely stuck around due to his special teams ability. He briefly spent time with the Washington Commanders in 2024, but the gunner-needy Steelers eventually brought him back.
But in 2025, Pierre has shown he deserves more consideration as a legitimate rotational – maybe even starting – NFL cornerback. He’s allowed just a 41.1 rating when targeted this year per NFL Pro, allowing just four receptions on 14 targets (and six passes defensed). After years of development, he’s staring to thrive.
The sample size is still small – Pierre has just played 101 defense snaps this year – but he played a season-high 44 of them against the Chargers with Darius Slay in concussion protocol. And the results were once again promising.
Pierre cuts a very similar figure to Joey Porter Jr. on the field, with a tall, lanky build. He’s the typical press-man, cover-3 type the Steelers like at the position. His arms measured in at the combine at 31 ¼”, which is below the typical threshold for a true “lengthy” corner, but Pierre still plays like one.
Against the Chargers, his two pass breakups displayed his ability to get in the way of the ball and close on routes. Pierre’s game isn’t quickness – he’s limited to boundary play – but his physicality helps make up for it.
Pierre allowed three catches against LA – but only one was downfield. And while you could nitpick how quickly Ladd McConkey gets off of Pierre’s jam in the play below, this was largely an example of Justin Herbert doing Justin Herbert things.
Pierre isn’t in a bad position to undercut the route, but instead the ball zips by with perfect placement. Sometimes the quarterback is just really good.
The short completions were the bigger issues, actually.. Pierre had the best tackle of the Sunday’s game: a WWE-style slam after working through traffic, but Quentin Johnston juked him out of his shoes twice on passes to the flat:
Pierre shows no concerns in terms of effort as a tackler, but Johnston had his number in the open field Sunday night.
The only other completion Pierre nearly allowed was this drop by McConkey. But in the play below, watch the angle Pierre has to come from in man coverage, and how shallow McConkey starts his route. The 4.59 speed shows a bit there, but there aren’t many cornerbacks in the NFL clearly winning this rep:
But where Pierre has impressed the most is with his football IQ. When you’re not the fastest corner, awareness and positioning are everything, and Pierre had two standout reps in that category against LA.
The first isn’t mind-blowing, but it was a welcome sight considering deep crossers plagued Pittsburgh to start the season.
In this case, Pierre recognized the concept very early, alerted the safety, and stayed put to cover McConkey while Jalen Ramsey took away Quentin Johnson. Herbert had nothing downfield.
But the following rep was my favorite of the day. In what looks like cover-2, Pierre started to jam Johnston before recognizing there’s a second vertical route. Pierre peeled off to boundary to take it away, all while keeping his eyes in the backfield, realizing it’s actually a screen. Then, he came downhill to make the stop.
Plays like that make me think the Steelers should consider investing more playing time into James Pierre’s 2025, especially with Darius Slay’s up and down play and continued injury worries.
Pierre is 29 and on a one-year deal, but he’s developed into a player who could fill a Brandin Echols-type role for Pittsburgh down the road: a special teams capable defensive back who fits into the starting lineup when needed without any major concerns.
For a sixth-year UDFA corner, that’s quite the accomplishment.
“Over the course of his career I think since he’s been here, he’s played in more games than anyone on our roster,” Tomlin said Tuesday. “He’s always available. He’s a dynamic special teams’ player – he’s a rising defender, particularly in 2025.”
And now Asante Samuel Jr. is signing onto the practice squad, and the Steelers might have even another name who could challenge for Slay’s spot on the boundary. I watched some of Samuel’s 2024 pre-injury tape with the Chargers and saw starting-caliber play (with great ball skills) even if speed, like with Pierre, wasn’t a standout trait.
Samuel hasn’t played football since Week 4 of 2024, however, and since then he’s undergone spinal fusion surgery. Samuel’s surgery was performed by the Steelers’ own surgeon, so the team might have extra knowledge regarding his current state of conditioning, but I wouldn’t bet on him being full-go immediately.
It’s still a very low risk, possibly high reward move for Pittsburgh – the former second-rounder is only 26 and he’s played some good football before his injury – but the ambiguity around his health makes Pierre’s ascension even better news.
Of course, as a whole, the Steelers have been a disappointing, messy team as of late. But this column is trying to focus on some positives for once this week, and it’s been encouraging to see some cheap, young ascending players on a team that’s felt collectively past its prime this season.
RP: That’s a great segue, Ryland. I’ll be focusing on some of those young players, starting first with one positive takeaway not only from this game, but over the last month or so.
While there are still questions about Broderick Jones and who will eventually replace Isaac Seumalo on the left side of the line, it’s increasingly looking like the right side of the line should be set in Pittsburgh for the next several years. Center Zach Frazier, guard Mason McCormick, and right tackle Troy Fautanu are becoming some of the best parts of my tape review each week, and I’m really enjoying the growth they’re showing this season. Throw in the blocking contributions of tight end Darnell Washington, and hearing the announcers call “the Steelers rush right” should be a staple of your Sundays for the foreseeable future.
Look at the space Warren has to work with in the run above. Both McCormick and Washington are able to get to the second level. Smith has a wild attempt at a block while pulling, but it slows the defender enough for Warren to get upfield.
The Steelers made plenty of mistakes on offense, but the run game was mostly effective when the Steelers weren’t shooting themselves in the foot with penalties and ineffective passing from what appeared to be a rattled Aaron Rodgers.
That isn’t to say that they’re perfect at this stage of their careers, but the young right side of the line shows promise and cohesiveness that should have you encouraged even as the offense struggles overall.
The first play in the reel above isn’t Fautanu’s most shining moment, but even with his mishap, the Steelers win the rep. Fautanu rolls backwards, and a dominant double team from McCormick and Frazier guides their man into the path of their sprawling tackle, sending him flying and into the way of the Los Angeles defender trying to round the corner. That buys Rodgers enough time to fire off a bullet to Washington downfield for the big gain.
In the second play, the Steelers run a tight end screen to path Friermuth. The top two picks of the Steelers’ 2024 lead the charge downfield, absolutely obliterating linebacker Daiyan Henley in the process.
Lastly, the Steelers haven’t thrown deep a ton this season. That’s partly due to Aaron Rodgers’ preference to get the ball out quickly at this stage in his career, partly Mike Tomlin’s desire to protect the football, and the sometimes iffy pass protection from the Steelers’ left side.
Still, here’s an example of the Steelers’ right side holding up for a longer developing play, even if Rodgers isn’t able to make the completion.
But it isn’t just the offensive trenches showing promise. Keeanu Benton was a player the fanbase spent a lot of time fretting over last season and to start this year. I’m happy to say, over the past month, Benton’s been playing some of his best ball, and that was on display again last week.
Over the past four games, Benton has three sacks and six pressures. On the season, Benton’s 4.5 sacks trail only Watt (6.0), Highsmith (5.5) and Herbig (5.5), and his 12 pressures is fifth behind only that trio and Cam Heyward.
Against the run, Benton is showing great improvement as well. He put on a clinic against the run, finishing with seven tackles and a team-leading five stops — an NFL Next Gen Stat for plays where a defender creates negative EPA for the opposing offense — while the Steelers held the Chargers to 3.7 YPC on the ground.
I leave you with this last play. If you’ve been in the comment section around here or listened to any sports talk radio or television, you’ve probably heard someone lamenting the Steelers’ lack of heart at times this year. I won’t say I haven’t felt that way at times myself.
But after reviewing the tape this past week, I can confidently say Benton is not lacking in that department.
Game notes: Bengals vs. Steelers
CINCINNATI, OHIO - NOVEMBER 02: Tee Higgins #5 and Ja’Marr Chase #1 of the Cincinnati Bengals celebrate after Higgins scored a touchdown during the third quarter against the Chicago Bears in the game at Paycor Stadium on November 02, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OHIO - NOVEMBER 02: Tee Higgins #5 and Ja’Marr Chase #1 of the Cincinnati Bengals celebrate after Higgins scored a touchdown during the third quarter against the Chicago Bears in the game at Paycor Stadium on November 02, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
Getty Images
Read & React already previewed the Cincinnati Bengals this season — you can read that articleHERE. As a result, we’ll be providing some up-to-date thoughts on the Steelers’ upcoming opponent instead of another preview, showing what’s changed since the last time the two teams met.
***RP (offense):***The Bengals’ offense has remained hot since their last matchup with the Steelers. Heading into the first meeting with Pittsburgh, the Bengals were averaging 17.2 PPG. They popped off in that one for 33 points, and the scoring has only gone up since. The Bengals scored 38 against the Jets and 42 against the Bears (40 ppg), both losses, though it should be noted one touchdown against the Bears came on special teams. The Bengals offense hasn’t failed to notice that one half of their team isn’t pulling its weight.
News came out this week that Joe Burrow is returning to Bengals practice this week. It still seems unlikely that he’ll play this week, meaning the Steelers get a second dance with Joe Flacco.
Flacco has performed well in the two games since the Steelers game. In his most recent game against the Bears, he went 31-47 (66%) for 470 yards, four touchdowns, and an interception. Against the Jets, it was a quieter statline, 21-32 (61.8%) for two touchdowns and zero interceptions, and a rushing touchdown.
Unsurprisingly, Ja’Marr Chase has been the primary focus of the passing attack. In two games, he’s hauled in 18 passes for 202 yards, but has been kept out of the endzone.
Tee Higgins led the team against the Bears (7-121-2), but had a quieter day against the Jets (1-44-1). He’s scored 44-yard touchdowns in two straight games.
Running back Chase Brown has eclipsed 100 scrimmage yards in both games following the Steelers game. He’s had 11 receptions in that time frame.
A few more nuggets:
The Bengals lost the time of possession battle in both games, with the Jets and Bears collectively outpossessing them by 16:20.
After having a clean turnover game against New York, Cincinnati turned it over three times against Chicago.
Getting the Bengals behind the chains remains important. They converted 9/19 third downs in these two games. Of the 10 failed third-down conversions, nine came with the Bengals needing to achieve six yards or more for the first down. The lone exception came on a third-and-three where Flacco committed intentional grounding.
***RB (defense):***The Bengals’ defense is still bad. ’Nuff said.
Seriously, though. I can’t get this Week 9 Bears game-winner out of my head, where Chicago tight end Colston Loveland scored from 58 yards out thanks to some of the most abysmal safety play you’ll ever see at the NFL level:
Due to a Week 10 bye, that was the last drive the Bengals defense has played up until this week’s upcoming game.
The Steelers offense needs a get-right game after last week’s collapse against the Chargers – I’m not saying Aaron Rodgers and co. will magically right the ship against the Bengals, but this is the game to do it. After all, Pittsburgh put up 31 on this team on the road in October. And since then, Cincinnati has given up 39 points to the Jets, and a whopping 47 to Chicago.
The Bengals are now the worst defense in the NFL in yards allowed per game at 426.6 – nearly 30 more than the next worst – and also worst in points allowed (33.3).
And to make matters worse for Cincinnati, they’re once again expected to be without their best defensive player, Trey Hendrickson, against Pittsburgh this week.
The main thing that has changed for this unit since the last time the Bengals and Steelers met is that Cincinnati linebacker Logan Wilson was traded to the Cowboys at the deadline. Wilson was already seeing his playing time shrink before the trade, but he still saw 26 defensive snaps against the Steelers earlier this season.
That means once again, the Bengals’ top linebacker duo will be the rookies Barrett Carter and Demetrius Knight Jr., who have had their fair share of growing pains this season.
Still, cornerback D.J. Turner II has been a rising name this season, and he had two passes defensed and one interception against Aaron Rodgers earlier in the season.
That being said, as rough a watch as the Steelers offense was on Sunday against the Chargers, the Bengals defense remains the most favorable matchup for opposing offenses in the entire NFL.
Join in on Steelers R&R by sharing your takes on this week’s topics. Who are some under-the-radar bright spots for the Steelers this season? Thoughts ahead of Steelers-Bengals part two? Feel free to pitch future questions in the comment section or on Twitter/X: tag@_Ryland_B or@RyanParishMedia, or email us at steelersreadnreact@gmail.com.