Steelers' Alex Highsmith Has Direct Response After Defense Fails Against Bengals

It was a frustrating loss for the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday, falling to the Cincinnati Bengals on the road by a final score of 33-31. Despite two interceptions, it was one of the best performances of the season from Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers offense, but the biggest story from the night was the dreadful performance from Pittsburgh's defensive unit. The Steelers allowed 470 total yards of offense, including 342 passing yards from Joe Flacco. 

The Steelers came into Thursday's game following three straight wins and three straight impressive performances by the Pittsburgh defense. In Weeks 3-6, the Steelers forced seven turnovers, compiled 17 sacks, didn't allow more than 60 rushing yards in each game, and only surrendered 14.6 points per game. The Steelers defense finally looked like the unit that fans thought it would prior to the season, but that all changed against Cincinnati. 

Flacco and the Bengals dominated on offense, and the Steelers seemed to have no answers. To make matters worse, Pittsburgh had a specific game plan to stop the Cincinnati passing attack, which obviously didn't work. When speaking to the media following the game, outside linebacker Alex Highsmith said just that. 

"He was getting it out quick, but I mean we had a game plan for that and we just didn't execute," Highsmith said.

Flacco diced up the Steelers, completing 31 of 42 pass attempts for 342 yards and three touchdowns with no picks. Ja'Marr Chase went for 161 yards with a touchdown on 16 receptions. Tee Higgins caught six passes for 96 yards and a score, including a long pass to help set up the Bengals' game-winning field goal in the final seconds. To add insult to injury, Pittsburgh allowed over 140 yards on the ground. 

On top of all of the yards and points allowed, the Steelers only sacked Flacco twice and did not force a single turnover. 

"We didn't make the plays that needed to be made tonight in order to win, said Highsmith."

Not only did the Steelers expect Flacco to use the short passing game, but they saw Flacco do the same thing just over a year ago while playing for the Indianapolis Colts. Flacco came in for a injured Anthony Richardson and once again diced up the Steelers, going 16-for-26 for 168 yards and two touchdowns while leading Indy to an upset win over the previously unbeaten Steelers. 

TJ Watt told the media following Thursday's loss that they knew Flacco had the potential to light up the scoreboard.

"We saw it last year in Indy," Watt said. "It's something that we knew he was capable of. Obviously, when you play that long, you're able to get through your reads quick, and you need to be able to stop him."

The Steelers have a few extra days to work out the issues on defense that led to Thursday's loss, but things won't get easier as Pittsburgh's schedule intensifies over the next two months. The next task in front of the Pittsburgh defense will be to stop Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers on October 26th.

Steelers Will See Flacco And The Bengals Again Next Month

The two-edged sword of playing a division opponent in the National Football League is having to play them twice in one season. For the Bengals, they might feel that they can repeat their performance against the Steelers to get another win on November 16th when they travel to Acrisure Stadium. For Pittsburgh, it's a opportunity for revenge, but at the same time they'll have to find out what else they can do to stop Flacco, Chase, and Higgins. 

Who's to blame for Flacco's excellent performance? The Steelers coaches for a faulty game plan? Or the Steelers players for not executing the game plan? Let us know in the comments!

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