Cincinnati’s defense struggled to slow Aaron Rodgers and Jaylen Warren as the Bengals suffered a 30-27 loss to the Steelers.
The Cincinnati Bengals traveled to Pittsburgh with a lot on the line — starting the year 3-0 for the first time since 2015 and getting that first divisional win in the AFC North. Their final drive would come up short, and the Steelers came away with a 30-27 victory at home to knock the Bengals down to 2-1.
Cincinnati’s defense did not look as good as it did in the first two weeks, allowing 411 total yards of offense. Aaron Rodgers looked like his old self again, throwing for 292 yards, three touchdowns and one interception and consistently avoiding the Bengals’ pass rush in the pocket.
Rodgers completed passes to nine different receivers.
Besides Dexter Lawrence, no one else was able to get to Rodgers at all. The Steelers’ offensive line held off the ferocious Cincinnati pass rush that was averaging four sacks per game entering Sunday’s contest, and Rodgers thrived because of it.
Jaylen Warren also had an outstanding game for Pittsburgh, gashing a Bengals defense that has been solid against the run for multiple explosive plays on the ground. He ended with 127 rushing yards on 17 carries and would have had closer to 200 if his rush of 87 yards wasn’t called back because of a penalty.
Overall, it was by far Cincinnati’s worst defensive performance of the season, especially when looking at the struggles Pittsburgh has had on offense over the first two weeks.
Joe Burrow led the offense to its best statistical performance so far, throwing for 282 yards and three touchdowns in the loss. The offensive line kept him clean all game until their final play of the afternoon, as Dalton Risner surrendered the strip sack that squandered the Bengals’ chances of a game-winning drive.
Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Mike Gesicki all caught touchdown passes, with Chase leading the way with nine receptions for 98 yards. Higgins wasn’t far behind with six receptions for 90 yards, and Gesicki recorded three for 37.
One of the main storylines coming into the game was seeing if Dohnte Meyers or Colbie Young could step up and fill the role of Andrei Iosivas in the offense, and Meyers did. He was targeted third-most behind Chase and Higgins, reeling in three receptions on his five targets for 29 yards, including a 23-yarder.
Young suffered a knee injury in the first quarter and did not return to the game. The severity of the injury is still unknown at this time.
The offense played well, but not well enough with how the defense struggled. Cincinnati thrived on putting pressure on opposing quarterbacks and shutting down their running games, but failed to do both against the Steelers.
The Bengals will be back in action next Sunday when they play host to Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars.
