Pittsburgh Steelers Finally Show Signs of Life In Monday Night Win

With a win in Week Four, the Pittsburgh Steelers finally showed signs that their season may still have hope.

All it took was a matchup against the lowly Cincinnati Bengals for the Pittsburgh Steelers to get back on track. After starting the year 0-3, the Steelers looked like a completely different team against the Bengals. The offense, though still conservative, played much better, while the defense played with an aggressiveness that had been lacking. Beating up on an overmatched opponent like Cincinnati doesn’t mean all of Pittsburgh’s problems are solved. With that said, it was nice to finally see signs of life from a team that looked dead in the water entering the week.

As mentioned, Pittsburgh’s defense deserves plenty of credit for the team’s first win of the season. Cam Heyward, in particular, was unstoppable with two and a half sacks. Bud Dupree, the oft-disappointing pass-rusher, was also effective, coming away with a sack of his own. Meanwhile, recent acquisition Minkah Fitzpatrick looked even more comfortable in the secondary after finally having time to get to know the system. His effectiveness in shutting down the deep ball and playing well in the slot has completely changed this Pittsburgh defense in the best way possible.

On offense, there were finally some flashes that suggest things may turn around on that side of the ball. James Conner seemed to wake up from his early-season slump, putting up 125 yards from scrimmage. Backup running back Jaylen Samuels also took on a huge role, especially in the passing game. With eight catches, Samuels was able to help out Mason Rudolph as a reliable target, though Samuels was also able to complete three passes of his own as the Steelers attempted to catch the Bengals off-guard with direct snaps to the running back. Offensive Coordinator Randy Fichtner put together a game-plan that was effective enough to get the win, and that’s what truly matters.

With those positives in mind, however, it’s important to remember this win came against a squad that was winless entering the game. The Bengals are not a very good team, and though a win is a win, the Steelers can’t expect their opponents to lay down like this every week. The offense was good enough against Cincinnati, but at some point, Fichtner has to trust his quarterback to throw the ball downfield. For the second straight week, Rudolph was forced to dink-and-dunk without taking deep shots, outside of one play to Dionte Johnson. If Pittsburgh is to truly get back on track and challenge the AFC’s elite teams, at some point, they need to trust Rudolph to make plays.

All in all, Week Four was a step in the right direction for the Steelers. It’s still too early to declare them as contenders once again, but with a defense that looks feisty and an offense that has the ability to play complementary football, this team has a chance to make some noise.