After two weeks of offensive ineptitude, the Pittsburgh Steelers scored 30 points to upset the Cincinnati Bengals.
Jaylen Warren exploded for 176 total yards, and Aaron Rodgers tossed three scores to three different receivers. The offense looked night and day from last week, especially after changes on the right side of the offensive line.
The defense, though, left a lot to be desired. Cornerback Joey Porter Jr. has yet to return, and his absence was felt against Cincy’s vaunted receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. On a day the unit uncharacteristically gave up 27 points, second-year defensive tackle Derrick Harmon struck Joe Burrow and forced a game-sealing fumble.
Without Harmon’s big play, the Steelers defense risked letting Burrow and the Bengals march down the field. Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham made little changes to his game plan, even if Chase and Higgins were having their way with the coverage. While they escaped unpunished, the group’s execution was mostly questionable compared to their usual consistency.
If anything, today highlighted Porter’s importance and why Graham desperately needs him back.
2-High Zone Frequently Gashed
The Steelers’ defense sat in a two-safety deep zone throughout most of the game. Nothing unusual from Graham’s system, but a scheme like this is easy pickings for Burrow and his two top receivers. Chase and Higgins combined for almost 200 yards on 15 catches, including two scores. Three different defenders gave up a third score on a blown coverage up top to Mike Gesicki.
Chase and Higgins easily found gaps in the zone, letting Burrow dump the ball to them and make a play. Even in one-on-one situations, especially on the touchdown catches, both burned Asante Samuel Jr. soundly.
The first one was a quick out route for Chase, who outran Samuel for the short catch in the end zone. In Higgins’ catch, he boxed out Samuel at the end of the route and caught the ball while falling backward.
Samuel had a rough afternoon and was replaced by rookie corner Daylen Everette. At 6-foot-1, Everette has a better size matchup against 6-foot Chase and 6-foot-4 Higgins than Samuel with his 5-foot-9 frame.
Everette also got burned by Chase on a third-and-8, but he managed a pass breakup on another third down while defending fellow rookie Dohnte Meyers. The play forced Cincy to punt, giving the Steelers a chance to add points at the end of the half (even though Rodgers threw a pick and Tee Higgins scored).
The coverage was not all doom and gloom. Linebackers Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson each had pass deflections; Queen almost had a pick in the middle while covering Drew Sample, while Wilson impressively deflected an overhead floater to Chase with his fingertips.
Still, the coverage has seen better days. The trio of Burrow, Chase and Higgins is always a tough assignment. The soft zones weren’t bad conceptually today, and the defenders tackled efficiently (Queen had 13!). However, a quarterback of Burrow’s caliber will dissect any soft zone if the pass rush does not do its job.
A Silent Front Ending with a Bang
The Steelers’ defensive front was quiet for most of the game. Burrow was surprisingly comfortable behind the pocket, partly because Amarius Mims kept T.J. Watt to a single QB hit. He did have two costly penalties, but overall Mims continued an impressive start to the season.
Burrow complimented the offensive line in the postgame press conference on their play against Watt and company, saying they were “pretty dang good all day” (around the 3:04 mark).
Graham kept the Steelers mostly rushing four, with a healthy rotation of their standard and NASCAR (Watt, Alex Highsmith, and Nick Herbig together with one DT) groupings. Burrow’s time to throw averaged 2.58 seconds, the fastest time against the Steelers this season. This, alongside constantly throwing short passes, kept Burrow fairly clean.
Still, the defensive front is what saved the Steelers late in the game. It came from two plays, both made by defensive tackles Cameron Heyward and Harmon.
Heyward’s play came midway through the fourth quarter, with the game tied 27 -27. He manhandled left guard Dylan Fairchild and collapsed the pocket. Running back Samaje Perine was supposed to chip-block before leaving, but he left Heyward completely alone with Fairchild. Burrow barely got the ball to Perine as Heyward closed in. Cincinnati punted after to seal a three-and-out.
After the Steelers scored a field goal for the lead, the Bengals had about two minutes to get in range for an Evan McPherson game-tying kick.
Cincinnati marched down the field with two big plays from Chase, but were still close to midfield. Harmon copied Heyward by bull-rushing right guard Dalton Risner, breaking out of the block with an over-the-arm swim move. Harmon sacks Burrow, and he loses the ball.
That was the Steelers’ only sack of the day, and it came at the right time.
Steelers Need Heavy Dose of Porter
Ultimately, Sunday’s AFC North matchup further proved Porter’s value as a shutdown corner. As he claimed to the media on Thursday before the game, Porter has performed well against the likes of Chase and Higgins. Porter allowed only six catches for 66 yards in 86 coverage snaps against Cincy in 2025, and his long-armed 6-foot-2 frame makes him a perfect match against both Bengal receivers.
The Porter saga did not yield a contract extension, and now many insiders report that teams like the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions are interested in trading for Porter. He missed Sunday’s game with his ongoing back/conditioning designations and could potentially miss the team’s Thursday Night matchup against the Cleveland Browns.
The Steelers will have better days defensively. The Bengals’ offense will always test Pittsburgh’s defense as long as they have the Burrow-Chase-Higgins trio. Graham has demonstrated that his game plans have largely been effective. At the end of the day, though, Porter will be a massive boost to the secondary and to what Graham can scheme up when he comes back.
Of course, IF he comes back.
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