CINCINNATI — The deficit was four touchdowns at halftime, and by the fourth quarter it had grown to 38 points. Right up to the end, though, some of the Pittsburgh Steelers most important players were still in Sunday’s game.
After a humiliating 41-10 loss, coach Mike Tomlin had a very succinct answer as to why.
“We need the work,” Tomlin said. “We weren’t playing well enough.”
The Steelers’ captains on offense and defense are their two oldest players, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and defensive lineman Cameron Heyward. Each said afterward that he had no designs on sitting out at the end.
“Games like this show a lot down at the end, shows a lot about a person, a team’s character, their will, their heart,” Roethlisberger said. “When down a zillion points at the end of a game, do they quit, do they stop fighting, do they give up a little bit or do they continue to fight and fight for each other? I didn’t ask coach one time to come out because there is a Steeler way and it’s fighting to the end.”
Also in the game late were important starters such as receiver Diontae Johnson, outside linebacker T.J. Watt and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick — all of whom have missed games this season because of injury or illness. Watt (hip/knee) and Fitzpatrick (covid-19) did not play in the previous game at the Los Angeles Chargers, and Johnson missed the prior meeting with the Bengals in September because of a knee injury suffered in a similar situation, on the final play of a loss that was out of reach.
The player with the second-most touchdowns for the Steelers this season, rookie tight end Pat Freiermuth, absorbed a blow to the head late in Sunday’s game and needed to be evaluated for a concussion.
Despite the risks, though, Heyward insisted he wanted to stick it out to the bitter end.
“(Heck), yeah,” Heyward said. “I’m here for four quarters. You’ll never see me shy away from that. I don’t care if the game is out of reach, there is a lot to be learned, whether trying to get back to things or trying to get technique right, if they allow me to go out there I’ll go back out there.”
Even if Roethlisberger did not want to come out of the game, he said he suggested to coaches to shut down running back Najee Harris. Perhaps the only prominent player who was held out of the end of the game, Harris took over the NFL lead in touches Sunday when he had eight carries and three catches. The 11 touches were a season-low for Harris, a rookie who has 248 touches.
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