Despite stars back on defense, powerless Steelers lose to Bengals, 41-10

CINCINNATI — To paraphrase a line from the late Chuck Noll, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ problems are great, and they are many.

Looking like a shell of the team that a few weeks ago was riding a four-game winning streak, the Steelers were blown out Sunday by the Cincinnati Bengals, 41-10, at Paul Brown Stadium, tying for the worst margin of defeat in the Mike Tomlin era.

It matched the worst loss for the Steelers since they were beaten 51-0 by Cleveland to open the 1989 season. The Steelers previously had a 31-point loss under Tomlin in 2016, when they were beaten by Philadelphia, 34-3.

“We stunk it up today,” Tomlin said.

For the Steelers defense, it was the second stinker in a row. The Steelers have given up 41 points in back-to-back weeks, this one occurring despite the return of All-Pro linebacker T.J. Watt and All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick to the lineup after a one-game absence.

“We can’t keep playing like this,” Watt said. “It’s absolutely embarrassing.”

It was only three weeks ago that the Steelers simply needed to beat the winless Detroit Lions to forge a first-place tie with Baltimore in the AFC North. The 16-16 tie preceded losses to the L.A. Chargers and Cincinnati, dropping the Steelers to 5-5-1 overall and 1-2 in the division.

Both of those AFC North losses have come at the hands of the Bengals, who are 7-4 and have beaten the Steelers three times in a row for the first time since they won six consecutive from 1988-90.

Of consolation is the Steelers still have two games against first-place Baltimore, the first matchup taking place next Sunday at Heinz Field.

“There is a lot of football to be played,” defensive captain Cameron Heyward said. “But if we do what we did out there today, we won’t win another damn game.”

Not if the defense continues to play like it can’t slow down a tortoise.

A week after giving up their most yards in eight years — 533 to the Chargers — the Steelers yielded 261 in the first half to the Bengals en route to a 31-3 deficit.

Joe Mixon gained 117 of his career-high 165 yards in the first half, becoming the first running back since Eddie George in 1998 to hit the century mark against the Steelers in the opening 30 minutes. The Bengals finished with 198 yards rushing.

In this 0-2-1 spurt, opponents are averaging 195 rushing yards against the Steelers.

“We have to stop this before it continues to unravel and become a bigger issue than it already is,” Watt said.

The 31 points were the most allowed by the Steelers in the first half since Jan. 2, 2000, when the Tennessee Titans also put up 31 and held on for a 47-36 victory.

The offense wasn’t much better. After going five games and 174 consecutive passes without throwing an interception, Ben Roethlisberger threw two, one of which was returned 24 yards for a touchdown by former Steelers slot corner Mike Hilton. That score put the Bengals up by 28 points late in the first half.

Roethlisberger, who had a 14-3 record at Paul Brown Stadium coming in, also lost a fumble, and the Bengals turned those three turnovers into 13 points.

“You can’t do that,” Roethlisberger said. “It just got away from us too quick.”

On special teams, the Steelers played without punt returner Ray-Ray McCloud. They countered his absence by not letting the Bengals punt until the third quarter. A week after the Chargers scored on each first-half possession, the Bengals got points on their first four drives, and Hilton’s interception return provided a 31-3 halftime score.

The bleeding slowed in the third quarter. Evan McPherson’s 51-yard field goal represented the only scoring by either team.

Unlike the previous week, when the Steelers overcame a 27-10 deficit and scored 27 fourth-quarter points, there would be no comeback.

Mixon’s 1-yard touchdown run with 13 minutes, 10 seconds left hiked the Cincinnati lead to 41-3. The Steelers got a touchdown with 2:59 left on Pat Freiermuth’s 15-yard reception.

“It wasn’t something any of us were proud of,” Watt said. “You never want to have that feeling coming out of a game.”

Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow completed 20 of 24 passes for 190 yards. He threw for one touchdown and ran for another. Burrow completed 14 of his first 15 attempts for 154 yards and was trying to add to the Bengals’ 21-point lead when he was intercepted by Fitzpatrick with 37 seconds left.

Instead of taking a knee to end the half, Roethlisberger came out throwing. His arm was hit, and his pass went directly to Hilton, whose touchdown solidified the outcome even though 30 minutes remained.

“It’s tough,” Roethlisberger said. “You’re getting into crunch time, division opponent. You want to play good football and you don’t. It stinks.”