Steelers 24, Bengals 16: A different way to win

Hello all. On Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers got a big  victory over the hated Bungles at Heinz Field. As with every game, there were things that went right, and things that went wrong. I'm here to talk about those things. Let's go.

Offense 
What went right 
In spite of the crap weather conditions that the Steelers juggernaut had to work with, they did have their fair share of explosive plays. Ben Roethlisberger hit Sammy Coates just twice- for a total of 97 yards. That's the kind of day it was for the Steelers. Not a whole lot happened, but when something did happen, it was huge. Roethlisberger reverted to what he did often from 2004-08 self, which was to play substandard, but at the end of the day, make the big plays and get the win.

What went wrong
24 points for the this Steelers offense is pretty anti-climatic. Although #7 found a way to bring home the W, there is no denying that he was not himself on Sunday. Of course, the crappy weather conditions contributed to the lackluster performance of Roethlisberger and the rest of the Steelers offense, but Ben knows he has to make sure that Week 2 was an aberration. Antonio Brown was nonexistent, catching four balls for just 39 yards. DeAngleo Williams did have a respectable 94 yards on the ground, but he did so on 32 carries for a lackluster 2.9 yards per carry average. The Steelers offense was just never able to explode the way they did on opening night in Washington, but I feel that this performance will prove to be a fluke, and the Steelers offense will rise again.

Overall
It's only fair to give the Steelers a mulligan. It was a rainy day, and both teams passing performances suffered as a result. The Steelers have the best offense in the NFL, and Le'Veon Bell is coming back in less than two weeks, so buckle up.

Defense 
What went right

Ross Cockrell came to play. Photo creds to bluedevilnation.net

Last season, the Steelers fell into a stretch where their usually shaky defense was stout, while their usually explosive offense was shaky. Sunday was one of those games. The Steelers D came to play, and they played the smash-mouth, hard-nosed Steeler football that, until a few years ago, was usual in the Steel City. Wille Gay had a few hard hits. Cam Heyward drilled Andy Dalton. Ryan Shazier was an absolute carnivore on the field. The Steelers defense played well, and my choice for game MVP is the unheralded cornerback, Ross Cockrell. Cockrell had the daunting task of guarding one of the NFL's best athletes in A.J. Green and held the former Georiga Bulldog to 2 catches on eight targets and 38 receiving yards. Hats off to Cockrell. If this kid can learn how to tackle properly, there is no reason that he can't become a solid corner in this league.

What went wrong 
Not a lot negative to say here. Artie Burns got schooled by Giovani Bernard on a touchdown run, and Sean Davis missed some tackles. Other than that, the Steelers D was A-OK.

A negative from Sunday was that the Steelers got some favors from the officiating crew. Late in the 3rd quarter, Andy Dalton drove the Bengals down to the Pittsburgh 3-yard line. On 3rd down, Dalton threw a pass to his tight end, C.J. Uzomah, in the end zone, where he was forced out of bounds. The referee ruled that the pass was incomplete, but replays showed that Uzomah was able to get one knee down in the endzone with possession of the ball. By rule, this should have been a touchdown.

The second break that the Steelers got happened on the last meaningful play of the game. Just after the 2:00 warning, with Cincinnati driving into Steelers territory, Dalton found rookie Tyler Boyd for a short gain down to the Pittsburgh 33. Boyd was hit by James Harrison and fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Robert Golden. The crew reviewed the play, and it damn sure looked like Boyd's knee was down. But referee Pete Morelli saw no conclusive evidence, and the Steelers had the ball and the win.

While the Steelers were the better team and deserved to win the game, it's never good to have refs play a factor. Nonetheless, officials are human, and things like this happen.

Overall
It might not have been as dominant of a performance from the Steelers as we saw on opening night in Washington, but at the end of the day, a win over a heated rival is always sweet. The Steelers are the most dangerous team in the AFC, and nothing that happened on Sunday has changed my mind on that.