Steelers blunders on special teams prove costly in 18-12 loss to Bengals

November 16, 5:21 AMPittsburgh Sports ExaminerMatt Pawlikowski

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Heath Miller's face says it all. It was one of those days for the Steelers in an 18-12 loss.

(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh – If you like defense, it was the name of the game in the Steelers 18-12 loss to the Bengals on Sunday.

Neither team had more than 235 total yards offense. Neither squad reached the endzone. Then again, it could also be called a case of dropped balls and blunders, or maybe it was just the fact two of the elite teams in the AFC bumped heads with each other.

Whatever the case instead of regaining a hold on the AFC North Central, it will be one of the games people are talking about for a long time, as the Steelers walked off the field pondering what if and where do we go from here.

“That’s a good football team, but as always when we evaluate our performances, we look within,” Steeler coach Mike Tomlin said. “ We were below the line, that’s not winning football on a lot of fronts, specifically when you’re playing a quality team as the Bengals are. When you kick field goals, you potentially expose yourself to losses.”

Although the Steelers couldn’t find the right combination when it came to getting into the end-zone from the Red Zone, once again a special team snafu proved to be the difference maker in a game that saw no offensive touchdowns from either team.

After taking a 3-0 lead on Jeff Reed’s 28-yard field goal with 4:46 left in the first quarter, the Bengals Bernard Scott , a rookie who had not returned a kick for a touchdown since his freshman year of college, broke through the coverage unit for 96 yards. The point after attempt was no good, but the damage was done as the score proved to be dagger in the heart of the Steelers.

It marked the third time in four games that the Steelers have allowed a return for a touchdown. Against the Browns and Vikings, the Steelers were able to overcome the blunders. Against the Bengals defense, they were not.

Asked about the problems with the return unit, Tomlin said he would be exploring all options at this point.

“ I’m open to all considerations at this point,” he said. “ Let’s be honest here, we’ve had three returned on us haven’t we? I’d put myself out there if I thought I could do the job.”

Meaning some of the regular starters may see time on the unit in the final seven games.

“It’s something where everybody is going to have to pitch in and do their job to make that part of our game better, “linebacker James Farrior said. “It’s affecting the outcome of the game so we’ve got to get better in that area.”

Stefan Logan, who the Steelers kept open a roster spot as a return man and is part of the coverage unit, said it’s just about making plays.



“People returning kicks on us is pretty frustrating, we just have to go out there and make plays,” Logan said. “Coach is going to go back to the films and look at things and maybe switch some things around. It’s very frustrating to me, and I am not going to point any fingers. It’s the entire kickoff unit and we have to just go out there and make plays.”



As for the rest of the scoring, they all came via field goals. The Bengals led 6-3 after the first quarter, but the Steelers took a 9-6 lead into half when Reed hit a 35 yard field goal.



The Steelers kept the Bengals out of the end zone in the second half, but they got two more Shayne Graham field goals in the fourth quarter while the Steelers could only muster another Reed field goal, this time a 34-yarder with 1:20 left.



Following that, the Bengals were able to hold the ball for nine minutes another thing that factored into the Steelers not being able to score again.



“These things happen, we have some things to correct, but it’s onward and upward,” defensive tackle Brett Keisel said. “It’s tough when you lose to a division opponent twice, but they are a good football team. We still have a lot of football left to play. We didn’t make plays today, hopefully we can do that next week.”



The Steelers travel to Kansas City next Sunday. The Chiefs have been one of the worst teams in the league this year, and won just its second game over the Raiders Sunday afternoon.