5 things we learned: Time for Ben Roethlisberger to join the NFL MVP talk

Five things we learned from Steelers 36, Bengals 10:

1. Big award for Big Ben

With the Steelers continuing to roll along as the NFL’s only unbeaten team, is it time to give credit to the

player most responsible for that happening?

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s name will start surfacing as an MVP candidate and rightfully so. After leading the Steelers to back-to-back comebacks from 10-point second-half deficits, Roethlisberger was at his best again Sunday with the Steelers leading from start to finish.

Roethlisberger set season highs with four touchdowns passes, no interceptions and 333 yards. For the season, Roethlisberger has thrown 22 TD passes against just four interceptions, and most importantly, his record as a starter is 9-0.

Lamar Jackson entered the season as the defending MVP. Patrick Mahomes also was at the list of frontrunners in an attempt to capture the award he won in 2018. Russell Wilson also merited consideration with his play in the first half of the season.

Roethlisberger should move to the top of the list. Since throwing an interception on his last attempt at Tennessee, which nearly helped the Titans erase a 27-7 second-half deficit, Roethlisberger hasn’t been picked off in 120 consecutive throws.

Not only is Roethlisberger making good decisions, he’s staying upright in the pocket. He has been sacked just 10 times and only twice in the past four games.

A six-time Pro Bowl pick, Roethlisberger hasn’t earned All-Pro honors in his career that dates to 2004 when he was named the league’s top offensive rookie.

Roethlisberger hasn’t gotten much love even inside his own locker room, for that matter. Just once in his 17-year career did Roethlisberger earn team MVP honors. That was way back in 2009.

Terry Bradshaw is the only Steelers player to claim the league MVP, winning it in 1978. If Roethlisberger continues this trajectory, there is no reason he won’t be the second.

2. Special rebound

All of the special teams issues that surfaced in Dallas were fixed against Cincinnati. They included protection on extra points and coverage on kickoffs and punts.

After having an extra-point blocked in Dallas, the Steelers didn’t allow any penetration when Chris Boswell was called upon to kick PATs or field goals. Boswell made all three extra points and hit field goals of 41, 30 and 45 yards, giving him 25 consecutive successful field goal attempts, the longest active streak in the NFL.

After yielding a 73-yard punt return on a trick play and a 64-yard kickoff return, the Steelers buckled down in those areas, too. Linebacker Ola Adeniyi forced a fumble on the first punt, which Benny Snell recovered. The only other punt returned by the Bengals went for no gain, and the long gain on a kickoff return for the Bengals was 23 yards.

Punter Jordan Berry also was superb, dropping four attempts inside the 20, including one at the 3. He had a long of 62 yards and finished with a net average of 44.6 yards.

3. Forcing the issue

When impending unrestricted free agents are named, Cam Sutton’s name rarely is mentioned. Sutton, though, has been changing that narrative.

With a forced fumble in a third consecutive game, Sutton has continued to excel in subpackages for the Steelers, who played without slot corner Mike Hilton for a fourth consecutive game.

Not only did Sutton create another turnover against the Bengals, he had four tackles, including one for a loss, while playing a season-high 50 snaps.

Sutton’s ability to play all over the secondary has increased his marketability for the offseason. The way he is playing, the Steelers might not have a choice but to let Sutton leave for riches elsewhere. With a salary cap that could drop by $25 million next year, the Steelers likely won’t have enough money to sign Sutton. Someone, though, will write a check to get the kind of versatility and takeaways that Sutton provides.

4. Dime a dozen

The Steelers added a new wrinkle to the dime defense, giving extended playing time to safety/linebacker Marcus Allen and rookie safety Antoine Brooks, who was promoted from the practice squad Saturday.

In this subpackage, the Steelers had two down linemen and two outside linebackers on the field with the other seven players being defensive backs or hybrid linebackers (in Allen’s case). They included corners Joe Haden and Steve Nelson, safeties Minkah Fitzpatrick and Terrell Edmunds, Sutton at slot corner, plus Allen and Brooks.

It was a grouping that helped shut down the Bengals on third down. Cincinnati didn’t convert a single opportunity in 13 tries, the first time that had happened in the NFL since 2012.

The Steelers also spent many first downs in the nickel defense, eschewing nose tackle Tyson Alualu in favor of Sutton in the slot. Perhaps this was due to Alualu coming back from a knee injury and the Steelers wanting to limit his snaps. He logged 19 against the Bengals. It also could have been done to confuse rookie No. 1 overall draft pick Joe Burrow, who didn’t have any turnovers, yet never could get going when it was time to move the chains.

5. Blitz brothers

T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree continue to stake their claim as the best outside linebacker duo in the NFL. Watt tacked on two more sacks to increase his season total to nine, which is second in the NFL. Dupree added another sack and has seven for the season.

Watt continues to state his case for NFL defensive player of the year. In addition to his sacks total, Watt leads the league with 27 quarterback hits and he is tied for first with 14 tackles for loss.

As for Dupree, he is showing the Steelers made the correct decision by applying the franchise tag to his contract this year. Dupree is on pace to surpass the career-high 11.5 sacks he had last year. His 18.5 sacks since the start of the 2019 season are seventh in the league, and his 21 tackles for loss in the same time frame are eighth.