The Pittsburgh Steelers were upset by the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday night by a score of 33-31. This loss was extremely disappointing, considering how poorly Head Coach Mike Tomlin's defense played and how well his offense performed. Four-time MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw four touchdowns and posted his fourth game this season with a passer rating of over 100. However, it was all for naught as the Pittsburgh defense surrendered 470 total yards of offense to veteran quarterback Joe Flacco and the Bengals.
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Steelers' Aaron Rodgers speaks with Bengals' Joe Flacco after a loss in the 2025 season.
After witnessing his former team's poor defensive performance, Steelers legend James Harrison spoke Friday about what Tomlin and the Steelers' defense have to do moving forward via Deebo & Joe.
"We need to get this thing moving in the right direction. We're not going anywhere," Harrison explained. "These offenses that we're going to face over the next four or five weeks, they ain't turning the rock over."
Few people can speak better about the Steelers and their defense than Harrison, who played nearly 15 seasons in Pittsburgh and won the Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2008. He is also right. The defense has struggled in the early part of the 2025 season. It has allowed an average of 374.7 yards per game (ranks 28th in the NFL), 258.8 passing yards per game (ranks 31st in the NFL), and it ranks 25th in the NFL on third down (41.9%).
The performance of Defensive Coordinator Teryl Austin's unit on Thursday night in Cincinnati was one for the ages and not in a good way. Flacco, who was traded to Cincinnati less than two weeks ago, completed 31 passes for 342 yards and three touchdowns. Superstar wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase had a record-setting night as he reeled in 16 catches on 23 targets (both Bengals single-game records) for 161 yards and a touchdown. Led by running back Chase Brown, the Bengals also rushed for 142 yards on the ground.
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Steelers' Teryl Austin on the sidelines during a win over the New York Jets in 2025.
Seven penalties were committed, and a whopping 27 first downs were allowed. Simply put, the results were not there for a defense that has been known to be elite over the years. If the Steelers continue to play like this on defense, they could be in real trouble. This might especially be true considering the schedule that Tomlin's team has coming up.
Steelers Now Must Prepare to Face Multiple Talented Offenses
While the Steelers are sitting in a good position at 4-2 overall and in first place in the AFC North, they could be 5-1 and have a true stranglehold on the division. Instead, with this loss to the Bengals, the division race is now heating up, and Pittsburgh is set to face some tough competition over the next few weeks. They will welcome in a pair of division-leading teams in the Green Bay Packers and the Indianapolis Colts. Of course, there will be plenty of eyes on Acrisure Stadium two Sunday nights from now when Rodgers takes the field against the team that he was a part of for 18 seasons.
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Steelers' Cam Heyward sacks the Colts quarterback.
Then, Rodgers and co. will have to travel out to Hollywood to face star quarterback Justin Herbert and the first-place Los Angeles Chargers. Following that battle, they will face the Bengals once again, but at home. With the way that the Steelers' defense is performing right now, this team would likely be lucky to go 2-2 over the next four weeks. As good as Rodgers and the offense have played, the defense, as Harrison noted, is going to have to button up in order for this team to really go.
Steelers fans should certainly feel good about the way the offense has performed. If Rodgers plays like he did on Thursday night, this team will likely be in every game that they play. However, for them to emerge triumphant in those games, the defense, led by T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward, Patrick Queen and Jalen Ramsey, must play up to it's potential.
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