Not playing well enough: The Steelers suffered a disappointing loss to Cincinnati, falling 41-10 in a game that the Bengals dominated.
Bengals running back Joe Mixon rushed for 164 yards on 28 carries, while the Steelers were able to muster just 51 yards rushing from four different backs.
"We didn't play nearly well enough in any of the phases," said Coach Mike Tomlin. "I thought that we got beat up front on both sides of the ball and they won the line of scrimmage. When you win the line of scrimmage, the game has a chance to look like that.
"So, we got a lot of work in front of us. We make no excuses, man we seek no comfort. It is what it is man. We stunk it up today."
Tomlin said they were beat more than once on the line, and when that happens, you just can't win.
"You can attribute it to whatever you want to attribute it to but the bottom line it was done," said Tomlin. "They won that mano y mano component of play much too often."
Tomlin was asked if there would be any changes moving forward, specifically on either side of the line.
"We're open to doing whatever is required to change what's trending," said Tomlin. "So, you may certainly see changes."
Alarming stat: The defense has given up 82 points in the last two games, 41 in the loss to the Bengals, and 41 in the loss to the Los Angeles Chargers last week.
They are numbers that are eye-opening, and yes, concerning for Tomlin.
"It's alarming. It is," said Tomlin. "We're not trying to play it cool by any stretch. We don't play football like that, but we have been the last couple of weeks. Some adjustments need to be made."
Staying put: Even though they were down big late in the game, the Steelers kept the vast majority of their starters in the game, and Tomlin explained afterwards the decision to do so in the simplest of terms.
"We need to work," said Tomlin. "We weren't playing well enough."
And the leaders on the team, including captains Cameron Heyward and Ben Roethlisberger, had no interest in standing on the sidelines watching.
"I'm here for four quarters," said Heyward. "You will never see me shy away from that."
Roethlisberger echoes his sentiment.
"I didn't ask coach one time to come out because that's the Steelers way," said Roethlisberger. "We fight until the end."
