The Cincinnati Bengals defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 33–31 on Thursday night, ending their two-game losing streak, but the victory came with a questionable distinction for head coach Zac Taylor. Despite winning, Taylor’s group made some unwanted history with one of the worst seven-game defensive performances in franchise history.

The Bengals’ worst seven games of a season to start the year defensively this century, according to the athletics reporter Paul Dehner Jr., in several key categories: defensive EPA per play, points per drive, defensive success rate, touchdown percentage per opponent drive, and points per game. Together, it is the Bengals’ worst defensive opening of a season since 2000. That mark indicates just how up-and-down Taylor’s defense has been, and just how, despite winning at Pittsburgh, that victory did nothing to solve the underlying issues.

Cincinnati has held an opponent under 27 points in just one game this year, its season-opener against Joe Flacco and the Browns. The unit has otherwise been plagued by inconsistency and personnel upheaval ever since. The Bengals sat starting linebacker Logan Wilson last week, healthy-scratched cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt in Week 7, and starting linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr. has missed 44 percent of his tackle attempts the last two weeks.

Safety Geno Stone continued to be out of position in key areas, a deficiency that once more surfaced against Pittsburgh. Thursday, the defense yielded a 68-yard touchdown to Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth, permitted the Steelers to convert 70 percent of their third-down attempts and 75 percent of their red-zone attempts, rates typical of a defense out of sync or out of discipline.

The Bengals are allowing an average of 30.6 points per game, the highest in franchise history. With 47 missed tackles over the last four games, the team’s struggles underscore a need to return to the fundamentals.

But Taylor and defensive coordinator Al Golden attempted to place things in perspective. “I don’t want the things we need to correct to mask the things that we did well,” Golden said. The Bengals’ defense still is an issue, even with a close victory against the Steelers. Despite bringing in eight interceptions, 11 sacks, and 527 total stops, the unit continues to give up big plays and struggles with tackling and coverage communication.

On Rodgers’ first touchdown, he held the ball for 8.6 seconds before finding the end zone, a situation Golden pointed out. The bigger issue, however, was the lack of pressure on the quarterback, made more apparent by Hendrickson’s absence due to a hip injury. “I have to do a better job of keeping it quiet for everyone on defense and getting them to play fast,” Golden said. “If we’re not lined up quickly or playing with pace, that falls on me to improve and lead by example.”

Only the Browns and Titans score fewer points and yards per drive than Cincinnati, and no team turns the ball over possession for possession more than they do. Week 7 indicated that the Bengals could still have enough offense oomph to make the AFC North competitive.

However, Zac Taylor was happy with the victory. In the post-game interview, the head coach said, ”It’s been too long since we won.”

Mike Tomlin’s Thursday night struggles continue

Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers, in the meantime, are also still struggling with another streak, one they can’t wait to get past. Thursday’s loss to Cincinnati was Tomlin’s 10th career loss on the road on a Thursday Night Football game, falling from his record overall in these games to 2–10 and an 0–7 record against AFC North teams on the road.

It was a sour conclusion for Pittsburgh, which was in control late, only to give up a field goal in the final seconds.

The Steelers dropped to 9–12 in total on Thursday night games and have lost five of their last six Thursday appearances since November 2019. After the game, Tomlin said, “Just from an analysis perspective, I thought the first half, we allowed them to run the ball too much.” He continued, “made a few more plays.” The Bengals did dominate the clock on the ground and in the air.

Flacco, in his second Bengals start since being traded from the Browns, was pinpoint-perfect, making several crucial third-down completions and distributing the ball to seven pass catchers. The veteran’s coldness was complemented by control of the Bengals’ ground game, which pushed around a Steelers defense that came into the game holding opponents to 94 yards per game on the ground.

The Bengals’ 142-yard effort exposed the Steelers’ gaps in tackling and gap integrity, issues that Tomlin admitted but would not dwell upon. Earlier this week, when questioned regarding Pittsburgh’s Thursday night record, Tomlin dismissed the historical background, stating that he was “only concerned about 2025.” But after yet another close loss, this one within the division, the trend continues to plague him.

The Steelers have had hard, close primetime contests, but not closing on short weeks has been an all-too-common theme for Tomlin.