The Pittsburgh Steelers took a brutal loss last week against the New England Patriots but there's no time to sit around and worry about it. Sitting at 1-1, the Steelers now prepare for back-to-back AFC North games, with the 2-0 Cincinnati Bengals coming to town. Here are our big concerns for this week's game.
Steelers offensive line faces huge challenge
The Bengals defensive line has been a terror through two games thanks to the addition of Dexter Lawrence and the interior of the Steelers offensive line is in complete disarray. This is going to be a massive challenge for Pittsburgh in trying to keep quarterback Aaron Rodgers upright and get the run game going.
The Joey Porter Jr. drama won't end
We had hoped by now, Joey Porter Jr. would either be cleared and playing or traded but instead the whole situation remains a distraction
for a team that cannot afford to lose focus.
Skill players aren't doing enough
Everything else aside, the Steelers running backs and wide receivers must do more. Even on plays that are blocked well, Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle aren't making plays and star wide receiver DK Metcalf continues to fail to catch the football.
Zone coverage might not be enough
The Bengals passing attack is elite and we saw last week that Patrick Graham's zone scheme can be taken advantage of by mid-tier receivers. This week the difficulty gets cranked up with the Bengals receivers and again, there's no Joey Porter Jr.
Tackling must improve
In the Steelers 20-3 loss to the Patriots, the Steelers defense allowed six plays of more than 20 yards, and this was due in large part to poor tackling. If they give up that many plays to the Bengals, this game could get out of hand in a hurry.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Steelers vs Bengals: Big causes for concern this week
