The Cincinnati Bengals looked like a team only partially interested in beating the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 3.
They lost, 30-27. Joe Burrow and his offense had a superb return to form on the road, but 2025-like flashes from the defense and a jaw-droppingly bad showing by the special teams unit attempted to throw the game away.
Here are some quick notes, stats to know and takeaways from the game.
Bengals vs. Steelers notes
- Looked like the 2025 Bengals defense for most of the first half. Blown coverages, bad angles, missed tackles.
- Here’s the concern: Aaron Rodgers is a savvy vet. He went after the two most obvious weak points of the defense the Bengals didn’t really try to upgrade all offseason: Jalen Davis in the slot and Jordan Battle at safety.
- Big injury concerns. Bengals lost rookie Colbie Young. Mike Gesicki got hurt. Demetrius Knight and Bryan Cook missed time while hurt, too.
- Darrin Simmons’ special teams were a disaster. Muffed punts, roughing-the-punter calls and other silly mistakes seemed intent on ruining this day. Minimum 10-point swing in favor of the Steelers on basic procedural stuff.
- Evan McPherson has now hit 20 field goals in a row, a true return to form.
- If nothing else, this was an elite Joe Burrow game. You just wouldn’t know it looking at the box score because special teams and defense were so bad.
- Dexter Lawrence showed up big on a third-down sack, forcing a Steelers field goal and giving Burrow the ball with a chance to win it.
- Joe Burrow tried to do too much with less than a minute left and the sack-fumble ended the game.
Key stat
10: Number of points, estimated, the Bengals gave the Steelers with special teams mistakes on the day. Burrow was sitting on a near-perfect day, but one wouldn’t know it because of the unusual gaffes.
Top takeaway
Balancing out: A bad game for the defense was going to happen. Special teams miscues happen. The Bengals offense, at least, looks like it’s rounding into
its usual form. Going into the year, projecting a loss in Pittsburgh before beating them later in the season wasn’t that outlandish. And the issues that popped up are more than fixable.
What’s Next?
The Bengals finally return home in Week 4 to host Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars.
This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Instant analysis after Bengals collapse, lose to Steelers in Week 3
