Tim Benz: Tyler Boyd is wrong about the Steelers. They didn't quit. They just stink.

Tyler Boyd’s characterization of the Pittsburgh Steelers was less than flattering after Sunday’s 24-10 Cincinnati Bengals win. The Pitt product and Clairton native said the Steelers “gave up” against his Bengals towards the end of their game Sunday afternoon at Heinz Field.

“The last plays of the game for them, they gave up,” Boyd said via The Athletic. “You could see it.”

The Bengals wide receiver was focusing on three straight drops by Steelers passing targets (two by running back Najee Harris, one by receiver Chase Claypool) to close out the team’s final possession, down 24-10 with less than two minutes remaining.

“Not only did the Steelers feel that, everybody in the country felt it,” Boyd said. “They had three drops in a row. … So, for a team to just lay down like that before the game is over, because no matter how much we are losing by or whatever the case may be, I know me and I know us and we are not giving up.

“We are going to continue to try and make plays and make something happen. But they portrayed to the whole nation on TV what they were about and how they gave up. So we got to take advantage.”

I disagree with Boyd’s assessment on two fronts.

First of all, those dropped passes aren’t examples of the Steelers quitting. They are examples of ineptitude. There’s a difference.

And there is plenty of that to go around the Steelers offense.

Secondly, if you want to look at the Steelers giving up, don’t look at the end of the game, Tyler. Look at the end of the first half.

Following Ja’Marr Chase’s gut-punch of a touchdown with 37 seconds left in the second quarter to make the game 14-7 Bengals, the Steelers got the ball back and initially looked like they were attempting to get a score before intermission.

With two timeouts remaining after a touchback on the kickoff, the Steelers tried two passes that went incomplete. Then on third down, they just ran Najee Harris up the middle for two yards.

Mike Tomlin might as well have waved a white flag to signal the end of the half. Instead, the Bengals used a timeout, got the ball back, completed a pass into Steelers territory and appeared to be en route to a field goal attempt.

However, a holding penalty negated the play, so Cincinnati kneeled on the ball to end the half.

To me, that sequence was much more of an indication of the Steelers giving up on their putrid offense than what happened at the end of the game.

The fact that the Steelers were still throwing, down two touchdowns with less than two minutes left is counter to Boyd’s premise.

Frankly, the Steelers probably should’ve given up and just handed the ball to Benny Snell or Kalen Ballage to run out the clock. Instead, they were still throwing the ball to Harris — their most valuable offensive commodity at this point — with the game in an unwinnable situation.

Upon further review, now that I think about it, that was actually pretty dumb. After all, isn’t this the same team that just lost wide receiver Diontae Johnson because it did the same thing a week ago in a loss to the Las Vegas Raiders?

So, no. Sorry, Tyler. The Steelers weren’t quitting at the end of the game.

They just stink right now. If you are trying to flex your muscles, taunt or trash talk, there is plenty of ammunition on that front. Just stick with the truth if you are trying to reignite the Steelers-Bengals rivalry.

It won’t take much.