Former Steelers Offensive Lineman Extremely Encouraged By Performance On Offense

The Pittsburgh Steelers struggled to get anything going in the Thursday Night Football matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals, losing 33-31 in a close game that featured multiple lead changes and plenty of excitement from start to finish. However, for most Steelers fans, the expectation was to be able to keep the Bengals' offense, being forced to start veteran quarterback Joe Flacco, in check and not allowing them to gain much ground. 

The Steelers were unsuccessful in this regard, allowing Flacco to throw for 342 yards and three touchdowns, looking like a much more dangerous team than the Bengals team everyone was beginning to grow accustomed to seeing over the past few weeks.

However, despite the Steelers defense not being able to stop the Bengals offense, the same was true with regards to the Bengals defense being unable to stop the Steelers offense. There were many instances where Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers seemed to be able to throw the ball wherever he wanted, while running back Jaylen Warren made it look easy running the ball, amassing 127 yards on 16 carries and 31 yards receiving on four receptions. 

There was another notable performance by players on the offense that garnered attention as well, particularly, from former Steelers offensive lineman Trai Essex and former Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch as they shared their thoughts on their show The Snap Count. In particular, Essex made note of just how well the Steelers tight ends as a whole played in this game, giving praise in particular to Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth after his best performance all season. Essex's comment regarding Freiermuth is encouraging for the Steelers fans who were hoping to see Freiermuth get more involved in the offense throughout the season.

"Kudos to Arthur [Smith] for deploying all the tight ends, I think they all got used very well, it was good to see Pat get his hands on the ball," Essex said. "I know he was being talked about a lot, how he felt about not being as involved, and Darnell [Washington] taking a bigger role, I thought he stepped up in a big way, but it was good to see all the tight ends getting involved in this game."

Essex praised Steelers Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith for getting Freiermuth involved more often in the game against the Bengals, especially as his snap counts the past few games were relatively low compared to the other tight ends on the Steelers' roster. Smith's decision to involve Freiermuth more often in this game worked out incredibly well, as Freiermuth registered 111 yards on five targets, one of those being the 68 yard touchdown pass from Rodgers that gave the Steelers the lead in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter.

Aside from Freiermuth, Steelers tight end Jonnu Smith also had a great performance despite the loss. Smith ended the night with 28 yards on three receptions and one touchdown, adding onto the great performances by the entire tight end room as a whole. Essex's comments regarding the usage of the tight ends in this game should encourage Steelers fans who are hoping that all of the tight ends will get more involvement in subsequent games as the season goes on, especially Freiermuth, after seeing a decreased snap count.

Steelers Tight Ends Continue Strong Performance

Despite the loss to the Bengals, in which there were many negatives, one positive that can be taken away from this game was just how well the tight ends as a whole looked. Essex's comments also referenced Steelers tight end Darnell Washington as well, as he has received a higher snap count in recent weeks. 

This did not change against the Bengals, as his performance continued to impress, which should be a sign of optimism for Steelers fans who wanted to see Washington get more involved in the receiving game.

The tight ends being used this well across the board is a positive trend that will hopefully continue forward into the future, as the schedule for the Steelers does not get much easier than the game against the Bengals last Thursday night.

What did you think about Essex's comments about the improved usage of the Steelers' tight ends? Let us know in the comments or on X at @SteelersSwamp7.

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