Steelers seek elusive first win against Bengals
MEMORABLE SERIES MOMENT
Steelers 21, Bengals 10
Nov. 2, 1970 at Three Rivers Stadium
Paul Brown vs. Chuck Noll may be a legendary matchup on paper but at this point Brown was at the end of his Hall of Fame career while Noll was in the middle of his second season as head coach. The Bengals were 1-5 and the Steelers were 2-4 for their first appearances on Monday Night Football. The Bengals took an early 7-0 lead on QB Virgil Carter’s short touchdown pass, but the Steelers – despite Terry Bradshaw’s rookie struggles – tied the game with a 27-yard halfback option pass by Dick Hoak to Dennis Hughes. The tight end’s other catch that night was a 72-yard touchdown reception from Terry Hanratty to put the Steelers ahead for good in the fourth quarter. The Steelers tacked on a late score to clinch the win, but they won only two more games that season and finished 5-9. The Bengals won their final seven games to make the playoffs with an 8-6 record, one of only two teams to make the playoffs after starting 1-6. The 2015 Kansas City Chiefs are the other.
TALE OF THE TAPE
“I think the Bengals’ offensive line is just not run-blocking very well. They’re not athletic. They’re big. I thought Zac Taylor was going to run a lot of outside zone because he was with the Rams last year. They run the trapping game, the two trap and the three trap like we used to do. They run a lot of whams with their tight ends. They run the counter trap. They don’t run it very effectively, and the passing game is all quick stuff. And Andy Dalton, when he’s getting the ball out quick there are a lot of completions. He’s accurate when he makes decisions early. He has a feel for the rush but sometimes he gets happy feet. He’s been sacked 11 times with three picks. He is athletic and he will tuck it and run. When he gets hot, he gets hot, so you’ve got to collapse the pocket on him. Their offensive line in general is soft. The pocket collapses.” — Steelers Radio analyst Tunch Ilkin.
TOP QUESTION
Can the Steelers run the ball and control the clock?
This was the same question last week. In fact, it’s the question that’s set into the weekly template for this preview. Can the Steelers run the ball against the 31st-ranked rushing defense? “Yeah,” said Ilkin. “I think they should. And they could. But will they?” Perhaps the unknown variable is whether Jaylen Samuels, the 220-pound second-year back with 4.4 speed, will be part of the game plan. He didn’t touch the ball last week but averages 4.6 yards per carry and rushed for 142 in the Steelers’ last big win.
THREE QUESTIONS: With ILB TYLER MATAKEVICH
Q: The game had evolved away from the old-school run-stuffing linebackers into hybrids, but now fullbacks are back and exploiting those defenses with power running games, so run-stuffing LBs are needed once again. Has the game come full circle?
TM: “Absolutely. Teams know. They’re trying to find the matchups. We’re scheming everybody, but they’re scheming us, too, so they’re trying to find their matchups. We’ve just got to be stout. It doesn’t matter what guys we have out there. As long as everybody’s doing their job, we should be fine. It comes back to us doing our jobs – hone in on the details. I know you’re talking about how football has changed. It’s changed a little bit. But as long as we do our jobs we’ll be fine.”
Q: With Vince still injured and Mark Barron getting the day off, you ran first team today. You have a knack for making tackles. Isn’t there still a need for that? And can you answer that need?
TM: “Shoot. I’ll just say I want to be out there, you know what I mean? If my number’s called upon, even for one freakin’ play, I’m going to go out there and try to tackle whoever has the ball. I just have to be ready to go. They know. I’ve been around. It’s my fourth year. I know this defense. I think they know I know. They feel comfortable that, God forbid, if something happens they know I can go out there and we’ll be fine. I think I proved that last year when we had guys banged up and we played the Falcons. I played the whole game. I was fine. We dominated the game. So, shoot, if my number’s called I’ll be ready to go.”
Q: Are you offended when people say you can’t cover in space?
TM: “Oh, no. But when I’m out there, I think I can cover anything. If you don’t think that way, you’ll lose right away. But I feel comfortable out there with all my matchups. Because even when I’ve got a speed guy, I know what’s going on around me. I know where my help is, I know what defense we’re in, I know what formation they’re in, I know what routes they’re going to run and I’m playing their route before I even run. So just using that, like, when people say, ‘Oh, you have trouble covering,’ well, yeah, I might not be as fast as everybody but I can use my brain, my smarts, what I know about the game to put me in better position to make the plays. Shoot, every time I’m out there I think I’m going to make a play.”
GAME BREAKDOWN
What to look for from the Steelers tonight at Heinz Field
ON OFFENSE:
The Bengals could be without two important reserves on defense in DT Ryan Glasgow (out) and DE Carl Lawson (doubtful). Another DE, Kerry Wynn, has been ruled out, so the starting duo that wore down late in last week’s loss at Buffalo — Carlos Dunlap and Sam Hubbard — will depend plenty on Andrew Brown, a 2018 fifth-round pick who made his NFL debut last week. The Steelers will be without fullback Rosie Nix again, while tight end Vance McDonald is doubtful with his shoulder injury. Welcome to Pittsburgh, Nick Vannett. He grew up in Columbus as a Bengals fan.
ON DEFENSE:
The much anticipated additions of coverage ILBs Mark Barron and Devin Bush have disappointed because the Steelers are 28th in the NFL against the run. They’ll once again be without Vince Williams, so look for Matakevich, the fourth-year core special-teamer who made 493 career tackles at Temple, to rotate into the mix to help stop Bengals RB Joe Mixon. Mixon’s averaging only 2.8 yards per carry this season (4.2 career avg.), probably because his offensive line has performed poorly. LT Cordy Glenn will miss another game due to a concussion that’s lingering from the preseason. Andre Smith, the 6th pick of the 2009 draft, who busted out of Cincinnati twice already, is in his third stint with the Bengals and will make his third start at left tackle this season. Bengals star WR A.J. Green remains out with an ankle injury. Former Pitt star Tyler Boyd is the Bengals’ offensive player to contain, while WR John Ross ran a 4.22 40 at his NFL Combine.
PREDICTION
The Bengals have the more experienced quarterback, and in Boyd may have the best offensive threat in the game. But the Steelers have the better lines and should expect the youthful middle of their defense to improve each week. In “The Battle of the Bad,” as Cameron Heyward put it, I have to side with the home team to get its act together. Steelers defensive assistant Teryl Austin, who was last year’s Bengals DC, should help. … Steelers, 20-19.
BY THE NUMBERS
0: Career wins by Taylor, the Bengals’ head coach who was a two-year offensive assistant with the Los Angeles Rams.
3: Fumble recoveries by Bush this season leads the NFL.
9: Field goals and extra points converted by Chris Boswell in nine attempts.
29: Tackles by Bush this season leads NFL rookies.
112: Yards from scrimmage per game by James Conner against the Bengals last season, exactly twice what he’s averaging per game this season.
DOWNLOADS
* The Bengals drafted their best cornerback, William Jackson, one pick before the Steelers were set to draft him in 2016. But the Steelers have traded up to draft Bush and Rudolph one spot ahead of the Bengals in the 2018 and 2019 drafts, respectively. In the wake of those three picks, the Steelers were left with CB Artie Burns (backup) and the Bengals were left with ILB Malik Jefferson (cut) and LT Jonah Williams (injured reserve).
* Bengals TE Tyler Eifert has missed most of the last three seasons with a variety of injuries. The former first-round pick and Pro Bowler averaged 3 catches for 41 yards per his six games against the Steelers, and the 6-6, 255-pounder is back and getting better each week. “Tyler looks like he’s getting better,” said Ilkin. “He looked kind of slow and tentative in the first game, and he picked up a little steam in the second game, and last week he looked not quite like the Tyler of old but he looks like he’s coming back from that really bad ankle injury.” Ilkin’s also been impressed by the blocking of the Bengals’ other tight end, C.J. Uzomah. “I’m a fan,” Ilkin said. “He’s a big stud, big, strong, can block, a great wham blocker. He comes and he’ll hit you and he’s also a good straight-line tight end.”
* Mike Tomlin is 13-2 in Monday night games, with both losses on the road. The Steelers are 5-0 at home on Monday night under Tomlin, but haven’t played one there since a 2014 win against the Houston Texans.
* It was four days shy of the 15th anniversary of Ben Roethlisberger’s first start when Rudolph made his first start last week with similar numbers. Roethlisberger’s passer rating by half was 42.7/112.9 = 74.6; Rudolph’s was 59.0/95.1 = 81.4. Roethlisberger won and Rudolph lost, and the latter’s playcaller has come under criticism. “I don’t know if it was conservative,” responded Steelers OC Randy Fichtner. “I thought we put ourselves in position. We had some opportunities for some throws and even some shots, and if you don’t connect or throw them it never really materializes.” Fichtner was asked if that meant Rudolph was hesitant. “Well, whether he’s hesitant or felt uncomfortable or didn’t like the matchup, all those things go into play. It could have been protection. Maybe he had to step a certain way in the protection and had to get off of it – those types of things. I’m not second-guessing Mason at all. We’re going to try and be as aggressive as we can be from start to finish.”
* The trade for Minkah Fitzpatrick paid dividends right way last Sunday when the free safety intercepted a pass and forced a fumble in the first half of his first game with the Steelers. Is he feeling at home already? “Well, I’m from New Jersey,” he said. “Grew up in a blue-collar town, hard-working town, so it does remind me a lot more of home, just the feeling here, and the people and the culture and everything like that. Miami is a great city, a great place. I loved it down there. Great place to live. Football-wise and culture-wise, I feel a little bit more at home here.” Said DC Keith Butler: “That guy is a sharp dude. He doesn’t miss much. We only have to tell him once and he’s got it. He understands everything that is going on. I think he will tell you that he will feel better in two or three games. Being in there in his first game and having three days or four days to prepare and stuff like that, I thought he played well.”
PARTING SHOT
“We flipped a switch a long time ago to Cincinnati. We’re excited and we’ve got a really good plan this week.” — Steelers QB Mason Rudolph.