In a game where the Pittsburgh Steelers managed to put up 31 points on the road and lose by two to an AFC North opponent on a short week, we don't want to act on knee-jerk reactions. However, when the defensive game plan was utterly inexcusable, there needed to be consequences.
Pittsburgh has the highest-paid defense in the NFL, but as we've seen, they aren't immune to a dismal performance every now and then. This was one of them. Against the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday Night Football, the Steelers allowed 40-year-old quarterback Joe Flacco to carve them up for 33 points, which included 342 passing yards and three touchdowns through the air.