After the Pittsburgh Steelers had a 10-day break following a disastrous Christmas Day loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, they talked about a big game, that Saturday night’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals to close out the regular season would be different and that it was a personal matter be.

They spoke their words but didn’t follow through, losing an ugly game 19-17 to the Bengals at Acrisure Stadium. The Steelers left the game with a whimper late, Russell Wilson making two inexplicable decisions with the football and Pat Freiermuth dropping a ball on a 4th-and-12 when he would have had a first down.

The Steelers’ defense also did its best, holding the Bengals to just 19 points despite being on the field for 38 minutes – a performance more reminiscent of the Eagles-Steelers duel in Week 15, where there was such a one-sided period of possession .

Now the Steelers await the conclusion of Week 18 games to determine their playoff position. Let’s get to some notes.

QB – D-

The Steelers needed another great performance from Russell Wilson against the Bengals. Instead, they got a big dud.

Wilson threw for just 148 yards in the loss. He had a touchdown pass to Freiermuth and threw a great ball to Mike Williams that gave him a 25-yard gain in the first half. Other than that, Wilson was a disaster. He took some terrible sacks, had a complete meltdown on the final drive, fought and stayed inbounds with the clock running, and then got a sack on the next play.

Then on the next play he missed a wide open George Pickens with a double play.

Wilson and the offense couldn’t find a rhythm early in the game and didn’t get going until the fourth quarter. He missed several shots, inexplicably targeted Pickens only once in the first half, and was out of action most of the evening. He just didn’t see the field well at all as the Bengals kept confusing him after the snap.

Terrible performance.

RB – C-

Early on, I liked what I saw from Najee Harris. He hit the hole hard, ran downhill with power, and really seemed to have benefited from the ten days off, re-energizing his legs and entire body. That was evident on the second drive of the game, when Harris ran for 34 yards and a touchdown on eight carries.

After that drive, Harris had four runs for just one yard the rest of the way. The Steelers got away from what was working with Harris and the offense suffered because of it.

He finished the game with four catches for 20 yards, in addition to his twelve carries for 36 yards and a touchdown. Harris left the game briefly to be checked for a head injury.

Jaylen Warren also had some moments, but he finished with just 21 rushing yards on six carries. One of the bigger storylines in the game was Warren failing to get a yard on 4th-and-1 late in the first half, giving the Bengals the ball with great field position.

WR – F

George Pickens was expected to have a big game for the Steelers against a team he normally has plenty of success against. Instead, Pickens fell flat on his face. One reception, zero yards, three drops.

He was a disaster. There were also some ugly drops.

He wasn’t alone on an ugly night. Calvin Austin III was held without a catch and saw only one target, which he failed to keep out on a short throw from Wilson early in the game.

Mike Williams had a great 25-yard catch, using both feet to pull the ball inside to secure the reception. But that was his only goal that night. Van Jefferson led Steelers receivers with three receptions for 18 yards. That should tell you everything you need to know about the WRs on this night.

TE – C-

Pat Freiermuth had a decent night, catching eight passes for 85 yards and a score. He continues to put up numbers against the Bengals.

But his inability to stay inbounds for another yard late in the first half and then his drop on fourth down to end the game really marred the evening. Yes, the production was nice to see, but this decline leaves a very bad taste. If he catches that, he’ll get a first down and maybe gain a few more yards, potentially giving Chris Boswell a chance for a long, game-winning field goal.

Instead, the Steelers left the game with a whimper.

Darnell Washington didn’t see a target in the game and wasn’t particularly effective as a blocker.

OLD-

Once again, the Steelers pass protection was a mess. Granted, the offensive line wasn’t helped much at times with Wilson holding the ball and taking some bad sacks, but giving up four sacks and receiving countless pressures was pretty frustrating.

Dan Moore Jr. was a disaster as he had serious issues with Trey Hendrickson. The Bengals DE collected 3.5 sacks, putting him in position to win the NFL sack title.

Mason McCormick also had some issues, as did the rest of the offensive line. The pressure against Wilson was far too fast at times, which hampered the game from the start.

This group wasn’t much better in the running game either. The Steelers managed just 3.2 yards per carry. What do you do when you can’t run the ball and protect the pass?

DL – B+

Cameron Heyward had another outstanding game, despite the flu. Heyward made just one tackle, but he had three pass breakups at the line of scrimmage and was involved in a sack by Joe Burrow after steamrolling guard Cordell Volson.

There was no better player for the Steelers than Heyward on Saturday night.

Keeanu Benton also had a nice game. He got a huge sack late, giving him his first of the season. Better late than never. He also had five tackles and played with a lot of firepower. Larry Ogunjobi had one tackle, but he played the run well and was comfortable.

The Steelers held the Bengals to just 68 rushing yards, allowing just 3.2 yards per carry.

LB – B-

Solid night from all linebackers. Patrick Queen had a couple of splash plays, forcing a fumble on a blitz in the first half and then helping to steal the ball away from Ja’Marr Chase for an interception by Beanie Bishop Jr. He finished the game with five tackles and spent a lot of time playing football, also making a lasting impression as a blitz player.

Payton Wilson was on the field most of the night and had 10 tackles, including a tackle for loss, which tied his career high. The Bengals ran at him in coverage at times and he was a step late a few times, but for the most part he played fast and free and was on the sideline all night.

Elandon Roberts only had two tackles and should have had a bigger impact as he appeared to be able to hold on to the ball in the first half but surprisingly he was held to a draw.

On the outside, TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith had solid nights. Highsmith made seven tackles, and although Watt didn’t appear on the stat sheet, he had a strip sack taken away due to a downfield penalty against Cory Trice Jr. Watt put a number of pressures on Joe Burrow and influenced the game with his presence alone.

However, I’m sure this won’t come up in the advanced analysis.

Preston Smith had a nice night as a reliever with a sack, while Nick Herbig also had a sack. Good job on the depth pieces off the edge.

DB – C+

It was a strange decision to leave Cory Trice Jr. on an island against Ja’Marr Chase, and it backfired on the first drive when Chase beat Trice for a 12-yard TD. Chase should have scored another touchdown with Trice on an island in the first half, but the ball went through his hands.

On nine targets with Trice in coverage, Chase had eight balls for 80 yards. Trice coped well and finished the race with 11 stops. He largely kept everything in front of him, which was encouraging.

DeShon Elliott had a strong game with eight tackles, a tackle for loss and another big stick in the flat on a swing pass to Khalil Herbert. He played downhill the entire game and was steady, although he was beaten on a route by TE Mike Gesicki on the Bengals’ first drive, which was pretty ugly from Elliott.

Joey Porter Jr. had a really nice rebounding back game with six tackles and a pass breakup. He kept Tee Higgins under control, and when Higgins left due to injury, he played well against Chase. It’s been a year of ups and downs for Porter, but Saturday was a good performance.

All Beanie Bishop Jr. does is make plays. Great hands at INT. He has to play more. Cameron Sutton just doesn’t work out. The Steelers tried time and time again to throw him away from the edge, and Sutton was consistently a step or two slower and had no impact.

Special Teams – C+

Nice evening for Chris Boswell, who hit a 54-yard field goal in 19-degree temperatures at Acrisure Stadium. What a remarkable season from this guy. Who knows where the Steelers would be without him.

Punter Corliss Waitman had a solid game, but dropped a snap and recovered quickly enough to deflect the punt. Waitman averaged 42.6 yards on five punts and was able to help force a turnover after a punt bounced off a Bengals player, leading to a recovery by Connor Heyward. Nice to see this guy playing for the Steelers again.

While the fumble recovery was nice, Calvin Austin III himself had a lost fumble on a punt return.