Week 7 of the season set the Pittsburgh Steelers' division hopes on hold after a shocking loss against the Cincinnati Bengals. The national media should be surprised by this outcome, but Steelers Nation shouldn't be. It had the perfect recipe for a Mike Tomlin disaster class, and that's exactly what happened.
His complaints about facing Joe Flacco have recoiled and made him seem like a blabbering fool.
Tomlin's figurehead of a defensive coordinator, Teryl Austin, did no favors in instructing his group in the right direction. Both he and Tomlin continue to make poor decisions each year that cause them to lose some of the games they should've won. This matchup against the Bengals provided multiple opportunities for the defense to redeem itself, but that didn't happen.
Pittsburgh is allotting $163.1 million into their defensive unit in 2025, per Over The Cap. They have star players all around, and they fell flat on their faces. Pittsburgh played against a capable quarterback in Flacco, and Cincinnati has star receivers who ate them alive. You can blame Tomlin and Austin, who deserve it, but the players who routinely beg for money on defense failed to live up to the billing.
Pittsburgh Steelers' pricey defense continues to fail under the Teryl Austin and Mike Tomlin duo
If you are paying the most money to a defensive unit in the NFL, they better live up to those contracts. Pittsburgh has seen strong performances from its defense this season, but the game in Cincinnati saw a troubling trend continue. They can't compete with competent quarterbacks, even if they are older players like Flacco, who are nearing the end of their careers.
The secondary was the most egregious part of the defense for the Steelers against the Bengals. Jalen Ramsey looked like burnt toast, and the penalties skyrocketed against Joey Porter Jr. Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins of Cincinnati chewed them up and spit them out with ease. Pittsburgh's secondary had its worst game, and there might not be a solution on the team.
T.J. Watt carries the highest cap hit on the team this season, but he failed to make a meaningful impact in the game.
The lack of snaps for Nick Herbig is coaching malpractice and falls on the feet of Austin and Tomlin. The Steelers couldn't stop the run, which is an indictment of Watt and Alex Highsmith. Their star edge rushers were rather quiet, which you can't have with their massive contracts that control their spending during the offseason.
The defensive line was consistently overpowered throughout the game, which is especially concerning given that the Bengals have one of the weakest offensive lines in the NFL.
Cam Heyward begged for extra money leading up to the season, but he appeared to have an off night. Beyond spending cap space in the trenches, Pittsburgh invested too many draft picks up front for them to be playing that poorly.
