Mike Tomlin watched in front row as his secondary was dismantled by Joe Flacco, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins during the Pittsburgh Steelers‘ 33-31 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Although the head coach takes responsibility, he also warns that the problems can be fixed. “We won’t be defined by this performance, but it certainly was disappointing tonight.”
With a 4-1 record, the Steelers started to enter the conversation as possible contenders in the AFC and, in very early predictions, dark horses for the Super Bowl. Now, as has happened in recent years, fans and experts believe this version won’t be enough to break the playoff drought.
Can the Steelers reach the playoffs?
Yes. The Steelers currently have nearly a 65% chance of winning the AFC North and, as a result, making the playoffs. Their 4-2 record gives them a solid advantage over the Bengals (3-4) and the Ravens (1-5).
The big problem is that the defense isn’t performing in crucial moments, although, according to Tomlin, there were also other key factors in the game against Cincinnati to explain the loss, such as the two turnovers in the first half (both interceptions by Aaron Rodgers).
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NFL News: Aaron Rodgers downplays Steelers’ loss against Bengals and criticism toward Mike Tomlin
“When we’re not getting it, we better secure it. I think it’s about the totality of it. We work as a collective. So, if we’re not getting it, we certainly better protect it. We didn’t do a good enough job getting it, and we didn’t do a good enough job protecting it. When you’re -2 on the road, you don’t win a lot of these games. We turned the ball over a couple of times. It’s 60 minutes of football. We ran it well in the second half. Any pocket of the game you can isolate and judge, but we don’t worry about that. I thought we ran the ball effectively overall throughout the game.”
