The Pittsburgh Steelers suffered a tough defeat at home this past Sunday to the hands of the Cincinnati Bengals in which the team put up the most points of the season (by far) as they lost 37-30. A lot of good came out of the game as the team was able to at least compete and stay in the game for most of the matchup due to the likes of TJ Watt, Cameron Heyward, George Pickens, Pat Freiermuth, and Najee Harris.
The team's defense outside of the two mentioned could not do enough to give the offense any ability to win the game. 30 points is more than enough to win a game, but Joe Burrow and Tee Higgins tore up the Steelers secondary too much to give the Steelers a fighter's chance.
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - NOVEMBER 20: Kenny Pickett #8 of the Pittsburgh Steelers attempts a pass during the third quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at Acrisure Stadium on November 20, 2022 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
The Steelers managed to show some life on offense for the first half of the game as well as the last two minutes. But for almost the entire second half, Pittsburgh could not get anything going with their rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett.
But none of the blame is on Pickett this time, as the quarterback had his best game of his young career by far Sunday evening (25/42, 279 TOT YDS, 1 TD, 0 INTs) making more plays outside of structure and improving in decision making with no turnovers for the second straight week.
Steelers Offensive Play-calling Becoming a League Punchline
The blame continues to fall on Steelers OC Matt Canada, as his fingerprints are clearly still all over this offense. What Steelers fans have been complaining about all season continues to happen, and it is to the point where opposing players are starting to subtly trash the play calling.
In fact, Bengals middle linebacker Germaine Pratt quite literally said the Steelers offense, "likes to do the same plays over and over." Here is the whole quote as Pratt was asked what led to the second half defensive success.
"Just settling down," Pratt told CBS Sports when asked about the difference between halves. "It was us giving them plays. We knew what they were going to do. They like to do the same plays over and over."
Could it get any more embarrassing for Canada and this Steelers team as a whole? How does this team expect to win ANY more games when every opposing team knows what you're going to run? Sure, you might be able to get a few scrappy wins against other subpar teams like the Steelers (because lets face reality, the Steelers even with TJ Watt are subpar), but is that all that this team wants at this point? Do they want to be losing? Is the fact that Canada is still around proof that Tomlin would prefer to lose for a better chance at success in the long-run? I doubt it, but it does make you wonder.
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - NOVEMBER 20: Diontae Johnson #18 of the Pittsburgh Steelers runs upfield after a catch while Logan Wilson #55 of the Cincinnati Bengals defends during the second quarter at Acrisure Stadium on November 20, 2022 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
What do you think, #SteelerNation? Do you think Tomlin wants to better the success of the future by keeping Canada around, in which would result in more losses? Do YOU want to be winning or would you rather lose? Do you think Canada will be fired this season? How many more wins do you see in this team going forward? Let me know in the comments or @anthonyravasio on Twitter.
