The Pittsburgh Steelers have been about as inconsistent as it gets for a majority of the 2025 season. But against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, the Steelers finally played real complementary football. The defense allowed some yards, but didn’t break, and had several key splash plays that changed the game. Offensively, the Steelers weren’t explosive, but took advantage of their opportunities even without their starting quarterback and running back for much of the second half.
However, Chris Simms still sees some problems in this version of the Steelers. He’s wary of them despite the win.
“Good win by the Steelers, right? Do I feel better about them? Not really. I mean, Joe Flacco had the ball, they were going down the field, and it was 13-9, and he threw a [73]-yard pick-six that changed the game,” Simms said Monday on his Unbuttoned podcast. “You weren’t sitting here going wow, the Steelers look really good today. It was a Steelers type of game. At home, cold weather, turnovers, all that. But at the same time, I don’t sit here and go, oh okay, well the Steelers are really playing some good football.”
The Bengals were able to move the ball at a decent rate. But it’s not like the Steelers were exposed defensively. They allowed 105 rushing yards, which isn’t great, but it’s certainly not terrible. And after being gashed by Joe Flacco in the previous matchup, the Steelers were able to limit him to 192 yards the second time around.
There were a couple of drives in which the Bengals had some success. They scored an opening-drive touchdown on a nine-play, 71-yard effort, but that was the only thing the defense gave up in the first half. After that first drive, the Bengals had to punt three straight times before the end of the half.
They had another decent drive to start the second half, ending in a field goal. But after that the Steelers’ defense took over. Kyle Dugger returned an interception 73 yards to the house on the next Bengals’ possession. They let Cincinnati kick another field goal, but on the drive right after that, James Pierre returned a fumble 34 yards for a touchdown on the first play.
There are some reasons to worry about the Steelers, but Sunday was an impressive win. The offense rallied despite missing two starters for most of the second half. The defense gave up just 12 points, and scored two touchdowns on its own. A messy, rough divisional game went in the Steelers’ favor, and it happened against a Bengals offense that had a ton of success in recent weeks. It’s not time to plan the parade, but there are plenty of positives to take from this win.
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