Losing always hurts, but giving up a game to the Pittsburgh Steelers hurts even more.
The excitement surrounding the Cincinnati Bengals grew quickly after starting 2-0, but the team put forth a product that deserved to be beaten this afternoon.
The defense was torn apart by one of the worst offenses in the NFL heading into week 3 and allowed nearly a perfect game aside from a tipped interception.
But the Bengals’ special teams were even worse and killed momentum for Cincinnati on two separate occasions, including a roughing-the-punter penalty and a muffed punt that gave Pittsburgh the ball inside the red zone.
The Bengals had a chance to break the game open in the third quarter after forcing a punt, but Cedric Johnson hit the Steelers punter, giving Pittsburgh another set of downs.
Then the Steelers came down the field and took the lead, which changed the entire game.
The Bengals defense forced another punt early in the fourth quarter, but Ke’Shawn Williams fumbled it, setting Pittsburgh’s offense inside the 15-yard line.
To summarize, the Bengals defense forced two punts this afternoon, but the special teams unit hit the punter on one and stopped the second.
“We came down and kicked a field goal, it got stopped, so we’re going to get the ball back…the kicker was strong, they scored seven,” Zac Taylor said after the game. “And obviously the muffed punt ended up being a three. So that’s 10 points. That’s tough.”
All in all, the Bengals made too many mistakes and didn’t deserve a road win in Pittsburgh.