DB’s Steelers Dudes & Duds: Russell Wilson Lights Up Bengals, Joey Porter Jr. Busted Again
Mike Tomlin clinched his 18th consecutive non-losing season as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers as they went on the road and defeated the Cincinnati Bengals, effectively putting a fork in their division rivals’ season. It was the antithesis of what we think of when we talk about AFC North football. This was a fast paced, high scoring shootout for sixty minutes. Credit to the offensive unit who rose to the occasion after facing some early adversity after a questionable pick six on the opening drive.
Let’s take a look at some winners and losers from today’s matchup.
Dude: QB Russell Wilson
We saw shades of prime Russell Wilson today at Paycor as he delivered a truly masterful performance, throwing for 414 yards and three touchdowns. In the first half, he did an excellent job playing quick and getting the ball to the checkdown whenever Cincinnati went into their 2-high coverage shells. In the second half, he started pushing the ball down the field more and even delivered a vintage scramble drill touchdown to Pat Freiermuth. Even beyond the big plays he created, it was just as much about limiting the negative plays, with Sunday being the first time he’s taken less than three sacks in week 7. On a day where the Steelers needed as many points as possible, he delivered best performance we’ve seen from a black and gold passer in quite some time.
Dud: CB Joey Porter Jr.
When you’re going up against Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, you need your corners to be on their A-game and they just didn’t get that level of play from Joey Porter Jr. today. The officiating crew was definitely calling things pretty tight on the back end but this just further highlights an issue with Porter’s play which is that right now, he only really knows one way to play. He’s physical to a fault at times and relies grabby too much instead of trusting his technique. There were six penalties called in his direction, granted not all of those were accepted but this was the third time this season that he was flagged more than twice. He has to adjust moving forward.
Dude: OC Zach Frazier
There have been few rookies league wide who have been as consistent as Zach Frazier this season so it really shouldn’t be a huge surprise that he bounced back after struggling last week versus the Browns. His work in pass protection was solid and didn’t allow any noteworthy pressures on first watch. His real value came in the run game, however. He cleared the way for massive cutback lanes on some of their plays best plays from scrimmage on the afternoon. It’s not always easy for offensive lineman to stand out in a positive way when you’re watching the live broadcast but he jumped off the screen multiple times. As a team, their 42% rushing success rate was a massive improvement over previous weeks.
Dudes: Defensive Line
Speaking of players who rebounded from uncharacteristically poor performances, T.J. Watt returned to form today versus the Bengals. Five pressures to go along with his forced fumble on Joe Burrow when their offense was marching down the field was a play that went a long way in determining this game. His second sack was more of the coverage variety than anything else but he was more impactful today as a rusher than he has been in several weeks. Nick Herbig’s game would have probably included even more highlights if the officiating crew would have noticed that Bengals left tackle Orlando Brown was getting out of the gate early on every pass set. Nonetheless, his strip sack that was recovered for a touchdown was obviously a massive play that deserves kudos. Cam Heyward, who has been their best and most consistent defender this season, continues to dominate. Turn on the film and you’ll see that he deserves consideration for Defensive Player of the Year.
Dud: Pass Defense
It seemed like the Steelers were playing most zone coverage, mainly Cover 3 and Cover 2 throughout the game but there was just way too much space down field for Burrow and company to work with. This was a talented passing attack on the other side but Pittsburgh offered very little resistance aside from getting a couple turnovers from their front. Cincinnati finished with a whopping 59% success rate when dropping back, which tells the story on how so many points ended up on the scoreboard. I’ll have to comb through the tape to figure out exactly what happened but regardless, it wasn’t a pretty performance from the second and third levels as a whole.
Dude: RB Najee Harris
It’s been tough sledding for the fourth-year pro since the bye week, with his yards per carry figures falling during that time frame. But the Alabama product got them started early offensively, running hard through contact and finding creases to keep them ahead of the chains. In addition to his contributions as a runner, he was equally as valuable as a receiver out of the backfield. Arthur Smith designed a bunch of screen passes early, likely to slow down Bengals star pass rusher Trey Hendrickson, and he caught a few more check downs to create hidden yardage. He’s a player that typically gets better as the season progresses and in order for this offense to reach their potential, they’ll need him to play at a high level.
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