You can combat it: The last time the Steelers played the Bengals, a Thursday night game at Paycor Stadium, running back Chase Brown had his best outing of the season, rushing for 108 yards on 11 carries in a Bengals win.
This week, the Steelers want to turn that around completely.
“There’s always motivation,” said defensive tackle Cameron Heyward. “It’s a divisional game. They know us, we know them. But it comes down to execution. I think it’s those little mistakes that really cost us.”
The defense is putting a strong emphasis on execution, especially when it comes to the run game, trying to take it away and make the Bengals one-dimensional.
“You look at the game last time, we just weren’t stout in our gaps,” said Heyward. “Sometimes you’ve just got to be a little bit more patient. You’ve got to get off blocks. That’s the name of the game. You get challenged, learn from it, and get better.
“Chase Brown hits the hole very hard. I think he does a good job of being patient. And then when that hole opens up, he’s able to really crease it. And he’s running through arm tackles. That’s the one thing I was pretty disappointed with our last performance against them. We didn’t tackle as well. And versus this guy, a two-yard gain could be a 20-yard gain if you’re not careful. So have to run your feet, have to have multiple hats to the ball.”
Getting the run game going allowed Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco to open up the passing game, completing 31 passes for 342 yards and three touchdowns, including one to Ja’Marr Chase who had 161 yards receiving.
“You watch our game against him last time, we got off the field quick and then the run game kind of stabilized everything,” said Heyward. “The wide receivers did an amazing job on their side of the ball in catching, and the quarterback got it out quick. But I just think if you can create more of those one-dimensional situations, you’ll have a lot more success.”
Those quick throws Flacco was able to make again tied right into the success of the run game.
“You can combat it,” said Heyward of the quick throws. “One, stopping the run, because then those quick throws aren’t as detrimental to your group. Getting your hands up, having good coverage, having a good disguise, and not just being a sitting duck. I think you just got to mix it up.
“But stopping the run has got to be huge for us.
“We had two sacks, but we got hits. But I think we can do a better job if we create those situations where it’s longer down and distance.”
The defense didn’t create any turnovers in the first meeting, a statistic that has had an impact on the outcome of games for the Steelers this year, winning in most cases when they win the turnover battle.
While creating turnovers is big for the defense, it’s not the only path to success.
“You want to get off the field in different ways,” said Heyward. “When you’re out there, by any means possible you want to get off the field. Obviously, we want to clean up our three and outs. We want to get off the field as much as possible, but never be upset with getting turnovers.”
On Keeanu Benton and his growth: “He’s an emerging young player. I think he’s playing really well right now. I know his pass rush has been good. And he’s just got to continue to keep doing that.”
On Derrick Harmon and Yahya Black: “The thing they show the most is their questions. They’re very advanced. One example is just you watch Derrick Harman, he’s getting double tight ends to the side, and you see him swim out of the gap. Sometimes you would say as a beginner, stay in that B gap. But as you get more comfortable, you can play both gaps. And we talked a lot about that.
“At the same thing with Yahya, you’re starting to see him use more extension and it’s making more of a dent in the line of scrimmage.”
