–On the surface, it seemed like a regrettable strategy when first-year defensive coordinator Teryl Austin opted to do an all-out blitz on Antonio Brown’s 31-yard catch and run. On Monday, Austin said he would do it again even if it resulted in no safety help and a tough loss.
“The one thing I don’t ever want to do, I don’t want to second-guess themselves when they’re out there playing,” Austin said. “So, we’re going to play aggressively. We’re playing to win. And I thought at that point, that gave us the best chance to win.”
If the blitz succeeded in not allowing any yardage, it would have set up for a 49-yard field goal but with 15 seconds left, the Steelers still possessed two timeouts. As for what the numbers state in blitz vs. non-blitzes against Ben Roethlisberger there are differences. According to Pro Football Focus, the Bengals allowed 12 of 14 for 184 yards for 13.1 yards per attempt while blitzing and 20 of 32 for 185 yards and 5.8 yards per attempt when they did not blitz.
–When Justin Hunter sealed off Tony McRae with a pick play, resulting in Antonio Brown’s easy 31-yard game-winning touchdown, the immediate thought for the Bengals was offensive pass interference. After Sunday’s game, NFL senior vice president of officiating Al Riveron said McRae initiated the contact. In a video posted to Twitter, Riveron stated: “Immediately after the ball is snapped, (McRae’s) going to make contact and there’s contact downfield as they both go downfield.” As for what head coach Marvin Lewis thought, he had a strong disagreement on Monday. “That’s not true,” Lewis said. “In my opinion, that’s not true. The receiver is more than a yard from the line of scrimmage, Tony is trying to slide inside and is contacted. Again, that defines pass interference.”
–The linebacker situation continues to be in flux for the Bengals as a NFL Network report said on Monday that linebacker Nick Vigil is expected to miss at least four weeks with a sprained left MCL in his left knee. Vigil leads the Bengals with 51 combined tackles and was injured on a cut block in the first quarter against the Steelers. Vigil was Cincinnati’s helmet communicator by speaking directly with defensive coordinator Teryl Austin and those duties were handled by Vincent Rey. The Bengals have spent time this season without Vontaze Burfict due to a four-game PED suspension and Preston Brown missed two games with an ankle injury.
–If there are any concerns about linebacker Vontaze Burfict missing next week against Kansas City, it seems the Bengals do not have to be concerned with him serving a suspension for any of his rough hits against the Steelers, including one that briefly sent wide receiver Antonio Brown into the concussion protocol.
“Everybody makes comments on everything No. 55 does,” Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said. “They don’t comment on anything anybody else does. Let’s just leave it at that.”
Burfict made eight tackles while playing 61 snaps in his second game back from the suspension and that was more important than any possible questionable hits.
–A notable number from last week’s loss to Pittsburgh was the usage rate for running back Joe Mixon in his second game back from knee surgery. The Bengals ran 13 times and Mixon carried 11 times for 64 yards. Mixon appeared in 69 percent of the snaps while rookie Mark Walton appeared for the other 31 percent. The reasoning from Lewis? “We were trying to give Joe a blow,” Lewis said. “You don’t want to get to the end of the game and he’s at 60-70 plays and Mark is at five. We want to make sure both guys stay fresh.”
–Sunday will be the fourth time the Bengals were flexed into a national television game. In the previous three instances, Cincinnati is 0-3 with losses to the New York Jets in 2009, Pittsburgh Steelers in 2014 and Arizona Cardinals in 2015. Asked about whether he enjoys the spotlight of a prime-time game, quarterback Andy Dalton said: “For sure. You’re on the national stage and everybody is watching. I think it’s fun, from the standpoint that you’re getting the exposure. I enjoy it.”
–Defensive end Jordan Willis may know more about quarterback Patrick Mahomes based on collegiate experience. Willis is in the same draft class as Mahomes and faced him at Texas Tech while at Kansas State. In the 2016 season, Mahomes shredded Kansas State for 504 yards but took a 44-38 loss. “Playing against Texas Tech was just different because they do all this fast-paced stuff,” Willis said. “So, it was hard to kind of tell. And they had so many quarterbacks. They were always switching them out in that system but I knew he was a good football player.”
BY THE NUMBERS: 75 — That represents Cincinnati’s red-zone percentage in terms of scoring touchdowns on 15 of 20 trips inside the 20. Earlier this season, the Bengals held a streak of 40 straight trips inside the red zone with points before an interception on their first trip against Miami.
