Steelers - Bengals Recap - The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

Story by Yinzer Crazy Steelers Contributor Noah Nichols. Follow him on Twitter @_NoahNichols

Usually, the Steelers wait until mid-season to give their fan’s heart-attacks. Yesterday, they broke the norm, in one of the wildest (and most strange) games I have ever witnessed. Turnovers left and right, but only by the Bengals, an inept offense for the Steelers, historical defense from the Steelers, and mind-boggling struggles with some of the best kickers in the league, to name a few oddities from the game. 

My heart is still racing from that game and I expect to see an errant field goal try at any moment. Sadly, I’m also scanning Twitter for any signs of updates on TJ Watt, who left the game in its final moments with a Pec injury. While I’ll have more on that later, it's not looking good for Watt. 

Even so, there’s a lot to break down from yesterday’s overtime win over the Bengals, a score of 23-20, that came down to the final five seconds of overtime in what might go down as the craziest week-one game of all time.

The Good

• The Steelers won. Most experts and Steelers fans had picked the Steelers to lose this game. After all, a week one game, on the road, against a team that had battered the Steelers last season - no chance, right? Maybe it was the black air force one’s that Mike Tomlin gifted the whole team last Friday, but somehow the Steelers managed to pull this one out. While there are still 16 games ahead, the last 8 out of 9 times the Steelers have won their week one game, they have made the playoffs. So… playoffs baby? 
• Pat Freiermuth will quickly climb the ranks as one of the best tight ends in the NFL. He only made clutch play’s when called upon and was the Steelers leading receiver. 
• The offensive line did not allow a single sack. While Mitch Trubisky certainly didn’t stand in the pocket and try to chuck it deep (much to the chagrin of Steelers fans, and perhaps, coaching staff), the offensive line largely kept Mitch clean. 
• The defense looked like it had returned to its 2019 form. The reason I say “looked” is because of the injury to TJ Watt. Other than that, this defense was all over the place, sacking Joe Burrow 7 times, forcing 5 turnovers, with Minkah returning one interception for a touchdown, and blocking an extra point. Oh, and they made some crucial fourth-down stops at the goal-line too—great day from the defense. 
• Chris Boswell is still clutch when it matters most. On a weird day for kickers around the league (just ask Colts and Texans fans), Boswell nailed the game-winning kick. 

The Bad

• The offensive line could not get any push whatsoever in the run game. Disappointing day for the offensive line in regards to what their strength was supposed to be. 
• Mitch Trubisky certainly did not hand the game away, but neither did he do much to win it, with 5 extra opportunities. He made the game-winning throws to Pat Freiermuth, but other than that, he was disappointing. He missed a wide-open George Pickens on a third down “go” route, did the same thing again, only with Miles Boykin, and largely did nothing to push the offense to win the game. If Mitch continues to play like this, we will see Kenny Pickett a lot sooner than originally intended. 
• I missed Minkah’s pick-six due to spotty coverage. Still fuming about that.

The Ugly

• Injuries to TJ Watt and Najee Harris. While Harris’ injury has been reported to not be serious, Watt’s might be season-ending. The Steelers think Watt tore his left Pec, which would require season-ending surgery, with a possibility that he might come back in late December or early January. Frankly, if Watt is done for the season, I think the Steelers chances for the postseason are too unless something changes on offense. The Steelers defense won’t be able to play hero ball for 16 more games without their best player. It's a terrible possibility that Watt might be done for the season, in what looked like another record-breaking season for the superstar. 

The Beautiful 

• This catch by Diontae Johnson needs more hype. Contorting himself into a near-perfect replica of the Air Jordan logo, snagging the ball with one hand, and managing to get both feet down, might be one of the best catches we see all season. Johnson is earning every penny from his new contract, and if he keeps making plays like this, Omar Khan might need to give Johnson a raise.