Steelers' Disastrous Collapse On Defense Raises Questions On Offensive Decision Making

The Pittsburgh Steelers were defeated by the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday Night Football in Week 7 with a final score of 33-31 in an electric back and forth game between both teams. While the game might have shown the Steelers' offense has the ability to put up big numbers and make splash plays, the real problematic showing was how the Steelers' defense was unable to stop Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco from having an outstanding game, throwing for 342 yards and three touchdowns.

Bengals running back Chase Brown ran for 108 yards on the ground on 11 carries. The inability of the Steelers' defense to stop the Bengals through the air and ground began to raise questions on the end of the game, and how things could have potentially gone better for the Steelers had a different outcome occurred on what would end up being their final offensive drive in the game.

With 2:31 left in the fourth quarter, Rodgers completed a beautiful pass deep to tight end Pat Freiermuth, scoring the touchdown to tie the game at 30, followed by the extra point by kicker Chris Boswell to give the Steelers the lead. The next Bengals' possession would turn out to be their last possession of the game, as the Bengals would kick the game winning field goal with :11 seconds left on the clock. The Steelers failing to stop the Bengals on the final drive made many ask questions and sparked debates on what the team could have done differently at the end of their final drive. 

One particular comment came from Ray Fittipaldo, a Steelers insider from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette during an appearance on 93.7 The Fan that is sure to spark additional debates regarding the final minutes of the previous drive where Freiermuth scored a touchdown with what some believed was too much time remaining on the clock. 

"They have given up six of the seven previous drives, the Bengals scored points, and after that touchdown, they scored on seven of their final eight drives," Fittipaldo said. "You knew they weren't going to stop him on that final drive."

Fittipaldo's comments about the inability of the defense to stop Flacco on the final drive are incredibly spot on. They had failed to cover Bengals superstar wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase all night long, and on the final drive, it showed up yet again. Chase was targeted twice on the final drive, and both passes were gains of over 15 yards, which put the Bengals in prime position to run the clock out and kick the field goal to win the game. This performance was the best the Bengals' offense has looked all season, looking like a dangerous team on the offensive side of the ball once again.

The argument that Freiermuth should have stopped just short of the goal line to attempt to score with much less time on the clock speaks volumes to just how horribly the Steelers' defense had performed all night. Even if Freiermuth had been tackled which forced the Steelers to use more time on the clock to score the touchdown that put them ahead late, the inability of the Steelers' defense to stop anything the Bengals' offense threw at them raised little hope that even with limited time, they could keep the Bengals from getting into field goal range anyway. 

Steelers' Defense Appeared Unprepared For Their Opponent

Regardless of whether or not Freiermuth had gone down prior to scoring a touchdown, Fittipaldo's comments about why it would have been beneficial for the Steelers had this outcome occurred serves as a prime example of just how poorly the Steelers' defense had played all night long. With how they were unable to cover anyone throughout the contest, it looked as if the Steelers were unprepared for the Bengals to be as dominant on offense as they were with Flacco at the helm.

What do you think about Fittipaldo's comments regarding how Freiermuth should have been tackled before scoring to give the Bengals less time? Let us know in the comments or on X at @SteelersSwamp7.

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