Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin described his offensive game plan against the Cincinnati Bengals after his team’s 23-point victory as “chess, not checkers”. Much was made of their exploiting their tape from the previous matchup against the Bengals weeks ago against them, breaking their own tendencies.
Chiefly, they exploited the middle of the field to a degree they hadn’t been able to before. TE Pat Freiermuth was the chief beneficiary, having a career day with nine receptions on 11 targets for 120 yards. Even without a single target last week, he was credited as having a big impact on the passing game for how he forced the Bengals to defend him.