2007 Steelers - Week #8 Cincinnati Bengals

Last Weeks Result

• Denver 31, Pittsburgh 28
• Record: 4-2
• Standings: Sole possession of 1st in AFC North

Last Weeks Game Recap

While there is still a lot of football left to be played, this game had the feeling of a separation game for the Steelers. A win against the Broncos would have put the Steelers in firm control of the AFC North as well as added their name to the AFC contender list. With the loss, it places the Steelers right back in the middle of the pack in the AFC. I don’t want to take anything away from the Denver Broncos and their win. The Broncos have not been playing up to expectations, but they are still a talented team with an outstanding coach. I never did get comfortable with the fact that the Broncos were not a very good team.

That being said, Pittsburgh showed that they are decidedly not a championship team at this point. Right now the Steelers are a playground bully that can beat up on the weak sisters of the NFL, but can not win on the road against a quality opponent. In addition, the defense has yet to show me that they can step up and make a stop when it is really needed. These are two indicators that tell me that Pittsburgh is not prepared to by a contender at this point. We have not yet reached the midpoint of the season and hopefully the Steelers can work on these short comings and still make a play-off run. This is the true test of the coaching staff and it will be interesting to see how Tomlin responds.

Offensively, the first half for the Steelers was very disappointing. Two interceptions and a fumble returned for a touchdown easily offset the only touchdown that the Steelers scored in the first half. In my preview of this game, I knew that the passing game for the Steelers would be the key to this game. I had the up most confidence that the passing game would be effective and in the second half it was. However, I was extremely disappointed with the result, particularly because we had gotten several of our starting receivers back in the game, yet it still seemed that Ben struggled finding open receivers down field. I am not sure if this is that Ben is always waiting for the deep route to develop or not, but he seemed to hold onto the ball way too long at times. I thought the offensive line play was about the same as it has been most of the year: not terrible, but certainly not dominating.

At the end of the day, I feel that the offense did enough to win this game. They tied the game up with just a minute left to go, with a chance to go to overtime. Unfortunately, the Broncos easily moved into field goal position and won the game as the clock hit zero. I was not shocked to see the Broncos move the ball so easily against the defense because they had been doing it all night long. The Broncos converted 70% of their third downs in this game. Many of these 3rd down conversions were over 10 yards to go as well. Receivers were running open all night long and generally were able to catch the ball cleanly, turn it up field and gain more yardage. The Steelers did decent against the run, but there were a few runs that were longer than expected against the Steeler defense. Perhaps the crowning piece on this dung heap was allowing a 30-yard run by a quarter back not named Vick. Watching Jay Cutler jog unmolested through the middle of the defense was sickening. It was at this point that I determined that the Steelers defense had failed on this night.

Mike Tomlin and staff got schooled by the master of preparation. This was a great comparison because both coaches were coming off of bye-weeks and had had ample time to prepare for this game. While the Broncos came out prepared, the Steelers seemed unprepared and uninspired. To the Steelers coaches credit, there seemed to be some half time adjustments that allowed the offense to find a rhythm in the second half. Still, Mike Shanahan took an injury depleted team with less talent and beat the Steelers.

Game MVP

Heath Miller - Heath is steadily becoming one of the better tight ends in the league. He has outstanding hands and has the ability to get open. He is also an every down tight end that has outstanding blocking skills. He seemed to step up big in this game when needed and he was one of the few guys doing what he needed to do to win.

Game Grades

• Offense: D - The offense played well enough to win in the second half, but made way too many mistakes in the first half.
• Defense: F - Even with offensive mistakes, this loss is hung on the defense. They could not get off the field on third down and they failed miserably when they really needed to make a stop at the end of the game.
• Special Teams: C - The special teams did not really influence the game one way or the other for the most part. Returns were sub-par, but coverage teams were decent.
• Coaching Staff: D- - Mike Tomlin got schooled by Shanahan. With both teams coming off a bye, the Broncos were much better prepared for this game.
• Overall: -D-

Season (Composite) Grades

• Offense: - C+
• Defense: - C+
• Special Teams: - B-
• Coaching Staff: - C+
• Overall: - C+

Next Up: At Cincinnati Bengals

For the second week in a row, the Steelers get to visit a team thats record is below expectations and is fighting to save its season. Add to the mix that this is a bitter division rival where records can be tossed out the window, and this is another game that the Steelers can not afford to take lightly. The last time that these two teams met, the Steelers were making sure that the Bengals joined them outside of the playoffs. This rivalry really ramped up several years ago and has been quite heated ever since. I don’t expect either team is looking beyond this game.

On offense I really think that the Steelers are going to look to run the ball in this game. The Steelers have always run well against the Bengals and I think they will try to do a lot of inside power running. I believe that the run game will be successful and this will set up some efficient play-action passing. The Steelers are going to need to score touchdowns to win this game and can not settle for field goals, especially early in the game. If the Steelers can sustain long drives ending in touchdowns, they will win this game.

Cincinnati will be able to score on the Steelers. They are a very explosive offense and they have familiarity with the Steelers defense. While the defense generally contains Chad Johnson for the most part, it seems that T.J. Houshmandzadeh always seems to damage the Steelers. The Bengals have not struggled moving the ball or scoring points this year against anyone. They rank among the top offensive teams both in yardage and points scored. I can only hope that the defense is looking to redeem itself and plays an aggressive and dominating game.

Final Score Prediction

Pittsburgh 31

Cincinnati 27