It was another rough day for the Steelers on both sides of the ball Sunday in their 37-30 loss to the Bengals. At multiple points, CBS analyst Adam Archuleta diagnosed what was wrong.
Before we go further: Greg Gumbel and Archuleta aren't CBS' best broadcast team. At 76 years old, Gumbel is behind the action at times, and Archuleta isn't always sharp. Both Steelers and Bengals fans accused him of rooting for the other side.
But in the second quarter, as Joe Burrow was dicing up the Steelers without Ja'Marr Chase or Joe Mixon, Archuleta was dead accurate about Pittsburgh's biggest problem: the defensive line wasn't generating any pressure.
"If the 4 guys up front can get to Burrow, then you at least have a chance. So far, the pressure really hasn't been there," he said.
One of the Steelers' lone defensive highlights came midway through the third quarter, when T.J. Watt fought off a block from star Bengals tackle La'el Collins and came down with Burrow's pass mid-air for his sixth career interception. Though the Steelers took over the ball on the 21-yard line, they could only break through with a field goal.
The Steelers managed just 52 yards on their first six drives in the second half. As Archuleta pointed out, they just weren't good enough on first down.
"Their first-down plays have not been good enough to be able to put them in a situation where they can extend their drives," he said.
Amen. The Steelers exceeded 20 points for the first time all season, but it wasn't enough. It's a bad sign when mediocre NFL analysts can figure out what's wrong, but the coaching staff apparently can't.
