Former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis expressed disappointment with how the team’s defense performed during their 33-31 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday night.
“Nobody’s playing well, let me say that, Bettis said Friday on the “Dan Patrick Show,” via Steelers Depot. “The back end, they’re not playing particularly well. The front seven is giving up too many yards in the run game. This is one thing the Steelers never gave up, was 100 yards rushing.”
Pittsburgh’s defense had a tough outing, revealing flaws in every area of its performance. The unit gave up a total of 470 yards, including 142 yards on the ground.
The most frustrating aspect of the defensive performance was that the Steelers allowed quarterback Joe Flacco, whom the Bengals traded for less than two weeks ago, to throw for 342 yards and three touchdowns.
Pittsburgh struggled to contain wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, who saw 23 targets and caught 16 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown
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The Steelers likely believed that, after keeping the Cleveland Browns out of the end zone last week, they could stroll into Cincinnati and achieve a similar result against a quarterback who had started for the Browns this season. However, the Bengals feature far more playmakers than Cleveland, and they exploited the Pittsburgh defense all night long.
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