DB’s Steelers Dudes & Duds: Putrid Offense Lets Defense Down Again
The Pittsburgh Steelers late season collapse continues as they fell to the streaking Cincinnati Bengals at home in primetime on Saturday.
Make no mistake about it, this game was closer than it really should have been, but despite being given every break to steal the game, the Steelers just couldn’t seem to take advantage of those gifts. With the loss, they will likely head to Baltimore for Wild Card weekend.
Before we get into playoff mode, it’s time to talks through some winners and losers from the regular season finale.
Dude: TE Pat Freiermuth
I don’t want to completely wash over the drop on the final offensive possession. but the odds are that a completion there doesn’t change the outcome of the game. Aside from that, the Penn State product was very good throughout the game. He’s had some big games against this team in the past and he was the sole productive skill player tonight. His touchdown in the red zone came off a sail concept with him breaking free versus quarters coverage. The Bengals linebackers are guys that struggle in space and perhaps even more involvement for him would have led to higher scoring output.
Dud: WR George Pickens
As stated on the preview, Pickens has shown to be a player that will lose focus if he’s not involved in the game plan early and that’s exactly what transpired in this one. After just one catch on a screen pass in the first quarter, he proceeded to let three passes into his hands that subsequently hit the turf afterwards. Two of those were good plays by the nearby defender for knocking the ball loose and it looked like he prematurely took his eyes off the third one. Drops in big moments have been somewhat of an issue this season even if he has been mostly productive without what anyone would categorize as stellar quarterback play. This offense is dependent on his playmaking and he was a net negative tonight.
Dude: DE Cam Heyward
Pittsburgh’s best player this season continued his strong 2024 season into the new year. Because of how quickly Joe Burrow was getting rid of the football, the wily vet was smart about his approach, consistently getting his hands up into the passing lanes. He leads the NFL in batted passes at the line of scrimmage this season and it felt like those deflections were a primary reason why they were able to get off the field in certain spots. While it didn’t go down in the stat sheet as a sack for him, his bull rush walked the left guard back into the quarterback, forcing him to slide left into Nick Herbig’s awaiting arms. He’s been on this list on nearly a weekly basis and it would be a shame if this slide takes away from a special run from a franchise great.
Dud: LT Dan Moore Jr.
This offense is chock full of limitations. The tackles, Dan Moore included, are just not built to live in true drop-back passing situations. Trey Hendrickson gave him the business all night long and consistently beat him around the outside track whenever he was given the opportunity to rush. Similar to what Myles Garrett did earlier this season in a separate primetime loss, Moore has clear limitations in his game that cannot be ignored. Against the league’s best, he needs help and cannot be relied upon to hold up on an island even in limited exposures. I’m not sure how that will affect how other teams view him in free agency but this is the primary reason why Pittsburgh invested a first round pick in Troy Fautanu.
Dude: Collective Red Zone Defense
The Bengals came into this game with a scorching-hot offense led by Joe Burrow who was playing the quarterback position as good, if not better than anyone else over the last two months. The overall numbers weren’t great because Cincy did find ways to move the ball down the field. This was more of a bend but don’t break approach from Pittsburgh, holding to field goals instead of allowing touchdowns. This was a hardly a great overall performance but this is one should have been enough to win this game, if not for an abysmal offensive showing that deserves massive amounts of criticism on essentially every level.
Dud: QB Russell Wilson
I think we have enough evidence at this point in the proceedings to definitely say that Wilson is what he is at this stage of his career and any hope of some sort of revival is simply fantasy fiction. The deep balls down the sideline are still there but the offense is just so incredibly limited with him under center. There are obvious, expected signs of physical decline but his inability to even attempt to work through his progressions is stalling the offense out on a regular basis. He completed just one pass for -2 yards on 11 drop backs in which he was pressured, taking four sacks in the process, according to PFF. It would be one thing if he was managing the game well but he’s making some head scratching decisions during this losing streak that certainly haven’t helped matters.
Dud(s): Arthur Smith & Mike Tomlin
Pittsburgh has scored 17 points or fewer in four straight games. In recent weeks, there were some built in excuses available for those struggles, whether it be the schedule or the competition. Those do not exist today. This Bengals defense lacks talent at all three levels and the fact that the Steelers couldn’t get anything going all night long gives us a clear indication on how serious we should take this team moving forward.
Pittsburgh has now lost four straight and if you are the head coach of that football team, you’re always going to find yourself on this list in that instance. It’s far from the standard that this franchise should be operated on. Their season isn’t over yet but it’s on life support and that is putting it kindly.
Dud: DE Larry Ogunjobi
I don’t specifically recall hearing Ogunjobi’s name called during the broadcast as he finished with just one tackle. He’s always been an inconsistent player but is usually good for a splashy game or two against AFC North opponents. That hasn’t really been the case at all this season and that’s why his inclusion on the final column of the regular season feels appropriate. Ogunjobi has only registered 14 pressures and 4 hits on the quarterback in 2024, making it arguably his worst full season as a pro. For a player with the third highest cap hit on the team, that is obviously less than ideal.
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