October 17, 2025 • 37 mins
Rob and Max share their initial reactions and break down what they witnessed in Cincinatti as the Steelers fall to the Bengals on Thursday night.
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
He is in the locker room with King and Starks
on Steelers Nation Radio, presented by your neighborhood Forward Store.
The F one fifty is the official truck of the
Pittsburgh Steelers and by Steelers Pro Shop. Get it direct
from the team at the Steelers Pro Shop at shop
dot Steelers dot com.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
And we thank you very much for being with us
in the locker room with Max Stark's Justin Miller's controls.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
In our iHeart studio.
Speaker 4 (00:34):
I'm Rob King coming to you. Max.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
It was like I just saw you just a little
short period of time ago in Cincinnati where you are still.
Speaker 5 (00:44):
Yes, I am still here in Cincinnati, and yeah, still
at the end of the crime.
Speaker 4 (00:52):
It is the scene of the crime. Really, I'm sure
a little bit.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
We have lots of specifics to get into, but you know,
if you just want to give me a thumbnail of
your thoughts on this loss, the cons and if there
are some pros for you as well.
Speaker 5 (01:09):
So, I mean, uh, you know, as I've been trying
to reconcile this game in my brain, it's just missed opportunities.
You missed opportunity for the Steelers, a missed opportunity for us,
in the AFC North to to have really taken a
(01:30):
stranglehold on this division and really separated ourselves with a
prime opportunity to win. Now, I know, you're fighting history
and you're fighting what could have been, and you're also fighting,
you know, the nature of success. How do you handle success?
(01:52):
And we've got a first glimpse of how this team
was handling the success, but also how do you handle
the set now, the setback of having to reset the
quote unquote things that you could control, you were controlling
until you weren't. And you know, I have my thoughts
(02:14):
about the defense, which I'm sure we'll get, we'll get,
we'll get around to, but it wasn't good enough defensively,
was not good enough at all. And there's a higher
level of demand and expectation on that group over the
offense because of the amount of resources draft picks and
(02:34):
and the and the and the and the like that
have been spent to procure this highly decorated, highly touted,
highly renowned defense.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
And you brought them in town for this week. Let
me reiterate that again. You you you.
Speaker 5 (02:55):
Went and secured these guys in the off season for
this week. Yep, this was the team. This was this
was the object. This was the point of why you
made the moves this offseason that you did. So that's
where I think, you know, as far as the negatives,
but I mean positives, I'm leaning on Jalen Warren one
(03:16):
hundred yard rushing game, third such game, congratulations, pat Rwo
goes over one hundred and has two teddies as well, congratulations.
But that's really it for the congratulations and the kudos
I mean, offensive line not giving up a sack, you know,
(03:36):
making yourself available, Aaron Rodgers, overcoming you know, the interceptions,
and still putting us in a position to win. There's
a lot of good mixed in with a lot of
bad that in my head just kind of makes it
just you know, obviously negative one because you can't get
(03:57):
in that zero gain because that would be a.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
High but as it would, you know. But that's what
I think. But that's why I think it is.
Speaker 5 (04:06):
I think it's it's that type of that type of
thing where you know, it was just man, what could
have been?
Speaker 3 (04:13):
What could have been?
Speaker 4 (04:16):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (04:18):
Right, I think that that is probably what a lot
of Steelers fans are thinking, and some some gradient of
that what could have been? You know, and there's there's
a lot of uh yeah, you know, like if you
ever see a soundboard and you know you have zero
and then it's pinned over to the right and the red.
There's a lot of gradients within that, within that thought.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
And I'm sure a lot of Steelers fans are thinking
different things, but that is the upshot. You had an opportunity.
You didn't win the game. You had an opportunity to
really really put a stranglehold on the AFC.
Speaker 4 (04:50):
North didn't do it.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
And Max, as you and I talked about, you know,
we look at those power rankings and we kind of
chuckle over them. You know this wee uh you know,
one ranking had the Bills fifteenth, another had him third.
You know, it is a it is parody more than
I've than I can recall seeing. I mean, I'd probably
not have to sit back and go back through the years,
(05:14):
but I can't recall off the top of my head
a season in which there's been more parody than this season.
In the NFL, last night was another another shot at that.
And this was you know for the for the Bengals,
this saved their season, right, I mean, if you're two and.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
Five, boy, Oh boy, it's hard.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
Even with the firepower, they have to think that you
are going to not find some losses across across the way.
But we talked about this as well. They ran through
a meat grinder of a schedule. They were their opponents
of their last and their last four losses had a
combined record of fourteen to seven and one not a
losing team among them. They lost all those games, right,
(06:02):
but they were not getting good quarterback played. Jake Browning
was really really struggling, which I found a little mystifying
because he was so good a couple of years ago
and it wasn't like he was just you know, that's
not an offense in which the backup quarterback comes in
and puts it in the belly of a big two
hundred and fifty pound running back and you rely on
defense and running game. No, that quarterback's got to be
(06:22):
able to throw, and Browning did a couple years ago.
This year, for whatever reason, he really really struggled. And
you put Flacco in there and it's a different deal.
They absolutely had to win that game. And now that
they've won that game, you know, everything all bets are off.
They're they're two to zero in the division. They're three
(06:42):
and four, they've got an opportunity, They've run through some
of their toughest teams. Now all of a sudden, they're
a different team. They're looking, they're stepping up and saying,
look at us. And you know, this year, this could
have had a four game lead coming out of this
over the over the Ravens. Who's another team that I
wouldn't give up on just yet. And you and they,
of course the Steers haven't played him yet during this
(07:04):
downturn for them, so uh, you know, this this game
just you know, changes the complexion of the a f
C North. You know, we shouldn't be shocked by it
in a in a in a league of parody, like
I was saying at at the top of this comment,
But that's what it is right now.
Speaker 4 (07:21):
It is a It.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Is an a f C North that just in one
game got a whole lot more complicated and from the outside,
a whole lot more interesting.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
And Rob, I think I look at this.
Speaker 5 (07:37):
And it was just it was so tough to believe that.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
A quarterback could make such a difference. And maybe that.
Speaker 5 (07:48):
Quarterback because the name Joe, there's an affinity here in Cincinnati.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
For Joe's and only only a joke can win a game.
Speaker 5 (07:59):
Right now, we're the Bengals along with a jmr so
pretendingly your name has to have it.
Speaker 4 (08:04):
Yeah, or a Chase but Chase Brown, Yeah, Jamar Chase.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
Yeah, Jamar Chase Brown. It's a law firm, but.
Speaker 5 (08:17):
It's This is one of those things where you thought
everything was trending up, and even with the short week,
a shorthanded team, you thought there was going to be
an opportunity here for the series, and it was to
a degree.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
But I was really shocked.
Speaker 5 (08:34):
At how efficient this offensive line that's been oft humendously
criticized oft you know, talked about the fact that Joe
Burrow can't stay healthy behind this offensive line, but.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
Yet Joe Flacco aka Joe Cool was able to it
and they were able to get the run gig going.
Speaker 5 (09:04):
They tripled their output of running production against us, Like
that's not something you take lightly. And for as far
as we thought we had gotten, realized how far away
we still are. And that was that was the frustration,
(09:26):
because let's just face it, thirty one points is supposed to.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
Win these games.
Speaker 4 (09:32):
Yep.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
It wins. It wins games more often than not.
Speaker 5 (09:37):
And to hit over that thirty point plateau as a team,
it's like, oh, man, you're totally scored thirty one points.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
I was like, oh, that's a win. That's a win.
Speaker 5 (09:50):
If you asked me that any other time before the
game started. Hell, you could have asked me that. At
the beginning of the game, I was like, Steelers score
thirty one, we're winning. But it's a team game, and
the idea is the other team had the same design.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
B who score thirty three were winning and it was
a battle of wills.
Speaker 5 (10:13):
It was who's going to get the stop, and the
Cincinnati Bengals got the opportune stops at the opportune time
more frequently than the Steelers. They only had one five
and out. Yep, that's as close as we got was
a five and out. Ye had a three play series.
(10:35):
But that three play series ended up in a touchdown.
Not good either, but that's that's what they were up
against last night. And ah, man, you know, tip of
the cap. Tip of the cap to the white Bengals
of Cincinnati.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
Yep, white out last night. Great atmosphere, by the way,
great atmosphere.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
Great atmosphere.
Speaker 5 (10:59):
And now the Cincinnati Bengals are five and one with
that uniform combination.
Speaker 4 (11:05):
Maybe we'll see it more.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
You know, there's gonna be some superstitious guys saying, hey,
you know, I wanted I did want to. I don't
want this to get lost because I think what we're
seeing and probably our expectations are different than what we're
seeing nationally. So you know, all season long, in the
(11:28):
preseason and all season long, and I'm gonna say it
after a loss. You know, I certainly, and I think
you're in the same camp as I, but I don't
want to speak for you.
Speaker 4 (11:39):
Have been.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
Surprised that national media members, people that make their prognostications
about teams didn't have the Steelers having at least as
good a record as they did a year ago when
they were ten and seven and went to the playoffs.
I found pretty much nobody who picked the Steelers to
make the playoffs. And I asked some people in Cincinnati
(12:03):
what their perception was of the Steelers, and they said,
you know what, we that was kind of what we thought.
You know, this, it'll be the nine and eight, ten
and seven type of Steelers. But I think that was
before and I think part of that was because well,
it's forty one year old Aaron Rodgers. He's near the
end of the line. And I think that that that
(12:26):
notion is for me if I'm looking at one more
positive if you needed one more bit of proof that
Aaron Rodgers is a massive upgrade at the quarterback position,
or at least substantial because Russ Wilson played some good football.
Speaker 4 (12:43):
For him last year.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
But if you needed any more proof, I think last
night was the proof. I mean, he was mobile, he's
getting out of the pocket, he's throwing on the run.
That last throw he launched it seventy yards in the air.
I mean, you know, the throat of Friarmouth against Seattle
that was not complete with sixty yards in the air
(13:05):
rolling to his right. If you needed any and we know,
you know, like when people talk about, you know, the
command of the offense and all that stuff, it reminds
me of like, you know, a crafty pitcher, right, and
I'll bring like a Paul Skiens things like Paul Skian's
for the Pirates. He's a crafty pitcher, Like he's really
(13:28):
smart and he knows what he's doing, and crafty means
he's on top of his craft. But he's also throwing
one hundred miles an hour, right, you know, so it's
craft with stuff. This is not just a This is
not a guy who's just gonna, you know, just gonna well,
I'm gonna beat you on gile. He's got guile, but
he's still got plenty of arm talent. And we saw
(13:48):
last night more mobility than you would expect from a
forty one year old guy.
Speaker 4 (13:53):
Is he peak? Aaron Rodgers?
Speaker 2 (13:54):
You tell me a guy who's more peak at forty
one than they are at twenty seven. But I just
think think there's you know, if if I'm saying, okay,
what's the one positive from this game, if if if
you were a team, if you were a guy watching
this team for the first time, this should cement the
fact that Aaron Rodgers still has plenty of ability to
(14:15):
lift up a team, not just guide it, to lift
up a team. That would be my positive takeaway from
this from this game. I thought he just cemented that.
Not that I had any doubts really, but I just
thought there was there was more on display last night
once again.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
And I'll and I'll give you that.
Speaker 5 (14:35):
I think I think that is that that is definitely
a big surprise and something that we kind of.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
Figured wanted to thought but couldn't confirm.
Speaker 5 (14:48):
Type of situation with with just where we thought Aaron
was and what and you're right, this submitted that the scramble,
the mobility a the rollouts or unofficial rollouts more like
force outs, arm talent, arm speed was just on full display.
(15:11):
You you got a full Hey, what do you think
of this quarterback?
Speaker 3 (15:17):
You know playing?
Speaker 5 (15:18):
I mean you got a full You got a full
on visual scouting report last night about Aaron Rodgers and
the fear is or the reality is, yes, I can
do it all and that's what teams are gonna have
to fit when he's back. I thought, I thought it
was a very vivid visual on the television screen last night.
(15:39):
They showed Joe Flacko was sitting on the sidelines, and
then you saw Jake Brownie and then you saw Joe
Burrow like on the sidelines, and it was just like, yeah, that's.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
That's the room. That that that that that beats you
Donal Washington.
Speaker 5 (15:57):
I mean, as much as we talk about it, it
was just he you know, you were like, you know,
we couldn't find a role for him. The first couple
of years, but Aaron did, right, you know what I'm saying. Like,
you know, it was like, oh, there's all these just
random guys. Aaron found a way to activate all of
them and make them all a factor. And just the
(16:18):
Scottie Miller catch last night just went to go and
show you.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
No matter where you are.
Speaker 5 (16:24):
On this roster, if you're on it and they trust
you to put you out there for a play, guess
what I'm going to go test it. I'm going to
go get the ball in your hands immediately and see
what you do with it.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
That's just that there's something you can't.
Speaker 5 (16:38):
Describe, that type of level of grit intelligence and you know,
competitiveness that is on display at that position. So man,
it's just once again, you know, it stings because you
know the window for that for taking advantages is shrinking
right now. And you had a chance to really really
(17:01):
go ahead and really blow this division up.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
And now we're back to back to kick and screaming
and clawing, you.
Speaker 2 (17:11):
Know, And I get it, and we're licking our wounds
a little bit right now, you know. But such as
life in the NFL, right, I mean, it's crazy. We
are entering this week, this weekend's play and the only
one loss teams. The only teams with one loss Indianapolis
(17:34):
at five and one, Tampa Bay at five and one,
and the Packers at three to one on one A
little sister kissing there, I mean three one and one,
you know, But it is just Max, I can't remember
this kind of parody.
Speaker 4 (17:51):
You know.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
We went through the power rankings on Wednesday one more
time with Wes and they had who did they have
number one? They had Tampa Bay number one, and they
had Houston number twenty. And I made the comment to
to Wes that I can't remember this much parody in
the NFL. And if you told me that the Super
(18:14):
Bowl was number one Tampa against number twenty Houston, I
wouldn't be shocked, you know, I wouldn't be like, what
are you talking about? And I think every other team
in between is a contender and every week is going
to be a dogfight for the most part. And that's
(18:35):
what we saw last night. We saw a Bengals team
desperate to claw themselves into that. And by the way,
the Bengals weren't in that top twenty. The Ravens, who
I think, if they get healthy, they're gonna be a problem.
They weren't in that top twenty. I just it isn't
there is. Look, there's it's always every NFL game seems
to come down to two or three plays, right, you know,
(18:55):
even ones that wind up with a blowout like we
saw earlier this year Minnesota, you know, coming up with
the big turnovers, Isaiah Rodgers as we were scouting them
before the Steelers game, coming up with the big turnovers,
you know, to to totally totally turned that game into
a blowout for them. There's a couple of plays here
there last night that could have happened. I just think,
(19:17):
buckle up, man, It's gonna be like that all year long.
To a degree that I don't know, I'm scratching my
head thinking, have I ever seen parody quite like what
we have this year in the NFL?
Speaker 3 (19:32):
No, I don't think we've seen that type of period.
Speaker 5 (19:34):
I mean, there has been so much turnover from week
to week. The second it feels like the second you
put a team at the number one spot, they're gonna
blow it, right, That's that's.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
Just how it is.
Speaker 5 (19:46):
And and you know, we had the Eagles there, you know,
and then they lets you down. Then we put the
bills there, then the bills lets you down. Do you
put the Detroit Lions there? Then the Detroit Lions fall.
Like it's just it's like, come on, like where is it,
Like you said, the JACKSONVI Jaguars sitting there at four
and one right now? You know, Buffalo Bills are reeling
after two straight losses, you know, and and then of
(20:09):
course here's where the parity kind of lacks. Kansas City
is now getting on a roll and they're getting back
Rashi Rice this weekend. Right, It's like, oh god, now
we're gonna have to move the bank. You know, the
Chiefs backed up in the spot figure in there for years.
But that's that's what it is. It's about who can,
(20:29):
who can? Who can who can? Who can reinvent themselves
quicker is essentially the question, right because.
Speaker 3 (20:39):
Even with.
Speaker 5 (20:41):
All this movement between you know, three four teams just
still only one or two units on the football field.
Speaker 3 (20:51):
Right.
Speaker 5 (20:53):
So it's just it's something that I'm just I'm excited
about and but yet at the same time it does
it just frustrates you. I Mean, you know, you're excited
for it, but then it's frustrating when things don't go
your way, because you know, this is one of the
(21:13):
few years where you have that rare opening where you
could you could make something special happen if you take.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
Care of your business. Yeah, but that taking care of
your business. I don't think it's ever been tougher. I mean,
we could talk more about you know, I was just
just for giggles, you know, I'm looking at the Giant
schedule right, like three weeks in Russell Wilson at quarterback,
you're rowing three. Now your losses are Washington relatively, you know,
you gave him a bit of a tussle Dallas and
(21:42):
overtime on the road Kansas City, you lose twenty two
to nine. You know, people probably would have said, there's
a bad team. There's the coach on the hot seat.
It's Brian Dable. What happens? You come back? You beat
the Chargers, right, there was there was a team that
was a that was a ranking Darling. Right, you beat
the Chargers twenty one to eighteen. Then you lose at
(22:03):
New Orleans. What have we got here? You know, young
quarterback who made some mistake. Then you come back on
Thursday night football by the way, at home Thursday night
football for road teams is a killer. The record is
horrible around the NFL, so file that away when you
think about this loss.
Speaker 4 (22:18):
Again.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
I'm not trying to make excuses because there's a lot
of things that the Steelers needed to do better last night.
But then you come back and you wallop the Eagles
thirty four to seventeen. So are you a bad football team?
Speaker 4 (22:32):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
I'm kind of intrigued to see what they're going to
do at Denver this week because everybody's got Denver way
up there and the power rankings. Even though they had
to cling and hang on by their fingernails to beat
the Jets thirteen to eleven. It's a crazy year, Max,
an absolutely crazy year. And we'll get more of your comments.
I'm sorry I rambled getting into the break here, but
(22:53):
it's a wild season.
Speaker 4 (22:54):
Man.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
We're going to talk more about last night's loss, what
it means for the Steelers, what it means for the Bengals,
what it means for the AFC North when we continue
in the Locker Room, presented by your neighborhood Ford Store
and the Steelers Pro Shop on Steelers Nation Radio, a
part of the Steelers Audio Network.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
This is in the locker Room with King and Starks
on Steelers Nation Radio presented by your neighborhood Ford Store.
The F one P fifty is the official truck of
the Pittsburgh Steelers and by Steelers Pro Shop. Get it
direct from the team at the Steelers Pro Shop at
shop dot Steelers dot com.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
And metaphorically, the music is turned down where silent as
we're taking the tape off of our ankles, throwing them,
waddening it up and throwing it away quietly heading to
the shower.
Speaker 4 (23:52):
As the Steelers lose last night.
Speaker 2 (23:53):
That's all metaphorically, of course, we're actually sitting in chairs
as we bring you the locker room here on the
Steelers Audio Network and the Steelers Injury Report presented by UPMC,
the official healthcare provider and health plan of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Mike Tomlinson after the game he didn't think there was
any concerns the injury front, So that's good news for
(24:16):
the Steelers. And as long as we're talking about that,
one of these sort of quiet you know to me
guys that popped out a little bit in a limited
role was a guy filling in for an injured player
that's Keishawn Williams filling in for Calvin Austin, who's got
(24:36):
a shoulder and seemed to be trending in a good spot.
We'll see when Mike Tomlin addresses the media next week.
But you know, I know it's just it's a smaller
positive because he only touched the ball a few times.
But Keishawn Williams, you know, five returns, three kickoff returns
average over thirty yards with a thirty seven yard long
(24:58):
that's the longest kick return for any Steeler this year.
And two punt returns for thirteen point five yards with
a seventeen yard punt return. As long as we're talking
about the injuries presented by UPMC Max, Keishawn Williams, you know,
it showed why he could be, you know, potentially a guy.
You know, he looked he intrigued him coming out of school.
(25:20):
He was a free agent, undrafted. We saw him in
camp there felt like there was a little buzz around him,
and I think we kind of saw why.
Speaker 4 (25:29):
Last night and the game before too.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
By the way, I feel like I'm speaking into a
vacuum justin Oh, we lost Max start for a moment,
So Keishawn Williams. Do you remember had a forty seven
yard punt return last week that was called back due
to an injury In this game, you know, nothing called
(25:56):
back and he was able to provide this year this
with his spark. I think I think we have Max
now got you got to turn that volume. Who's the
volume down?
Speaker 3 (26:07):
No? The I had the mute button on.
Speaker 4 (26:09):
Oh right, yeah, yeah, you know, I'm here local and when.
Speaker 5 (26:13):
You don't have it on the screen, you don't know,
you know, during the breaks, you know, I'm over here
on my phone like doing other stuff and answering text
and stuff.
Speaker 3 (26:22):
And I was talking and I was sitting there. I
was like, oh yeah, and then I'm like, oh god,
mute button.
Speaker 5 (26:26):
It's it's like the old old ticker thing when you
have to hit the we have to turn your your
box on for the.
Speaker 3 (26:33):
Games back when you actually had a box. So that's
my fault. I apologize.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
So youre you you were saying really kind of to yourself,
but now we'd like to bring you to a broader audience.
Speaker 4 (26:42):
Your thoughts on Keishawn Williams.
Speaker 5 (26:45):
I thought it's been fantastic to have a guy that
could come and step in and feel so comfortable like
doing his role like normally there there's like that that
period where a guy has to figure it out fit
in and Keishawan picked up where he left off a
(27:07):
training camp and there's been no drop off in the
production on the punt or kick returns.
Speaker 3 (27:13):
And I mean think about.
Speaker 5 (27:15):
Last week, he would have he would have been super
explosive on the scene, you know, but a penalty which
let's just face it, you know, kind of this game
also a theme, right, penalties for the team that was
least penalized in this league at least going into last week,
has just had a run of penalties, and you know,
(27:38):
you could argue sloppy football, but Keishawn Williams has been
just you know, came in and he's almost in, you know,
dare I say it enhanced the return game prowess of
a team, and I just I love that opportunity. Now,
you know, hey, if that's what your job is, as
(28:00):
what your job is going to be, you know, I
would love to see him in the wide receiver position
as well, doing some thing because I thought he did
some things in Carolina, right, you know, he had a
heck of a final you know audition. In fact, he
was a guy we thought was going to be on
this team, you know, depending on which mock version of the.
Speaker 3 (28:19):
Fifty three man roster we were going with.
Speaker 5 (28:22):
But it was just a breath of fresh air to
know that you didn't have to worry about that department
and you think about just getting the ball out in
those critical situations in the second half and returning the
ball in and around the forty yard line, so getting
more than just a kick, you know, a touchback type
(28:42):
of result when you get those positive results like he
did consistently, you know, getting out there between him and
Kenneth game well, getting out to the thirty nine forty
yard line forty two yard line last night on those
returns and shortening the field I thought I thought were
key moments that kept us in this game. So, you know,
very very hearty tip of the cap to Keishawn Williams
(29:04):
on the special team side.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
You know, Max, as I look at this game and
I look at sort of where the Steelers are, and
you know, Aaron Rodgers after the game said, look, man,
we're foreign to right. This is what happens. And you
know we've mentioned and again not to make excuses road teams.
On Thursday nights. Just talked to Philadelphia last week. It
(29:27):
is a tough thing to do. Division game on the
road Thursday night favors a home team. I mean, it
just favors the home team. Yeah, and we talked about
the desperation for the Bengals and all that. But you know,
as we look at larger picture, you know, we saw
the offense kind of trending in the right direction. And
I don't think you can make blanket statements in the NFL, like,
(29:51):
you know, the way the defense has been playing, you're thinking, boy,
when the offense catches up and you know, maybe you
get into you know, November and into December and everything's
clicking and you know, everything's rolling along in the in
the right direction.
Speaker 4 (30:04):
You know, improvements are not linear.
Speaker 2 (30:06):
The offense looked to me like the way you want
the offense to look at the end of the year.
Speaker 4 (30:13):
The defense didn't look that way.
Speaker 2 (30:16):
After looking like they were the they were the unit
that was that was getting to where they needed to
be the fastest, the faster, because there's we're not going
to including special teams, so we're just talking about two
so we go not s English degree. So the faster
unit to get there and then after this week, you know,
(30:36):
people were throwing their hands up in the air. By
the way, I'm kind of throwing my hands up in
the air a little bit too, But it just wasn't
the performance that I was expecting. No disrespect to Flacco,
but the one that got me Max. You know, going
into this game, we do the Matchup Show with Matt
Williamson and Missy Matthews on Thursday. Well normally it's Thursdays,
(30:57):
but this week we taped it on Tuesday to get
people ready for the games. You look at the key
matchups and obviously you go out and get this defense
to you know, the corners for this game, and Mike
Tomlin said, yeah, this is why we have Jalen Ramsey
and Darius Slay. My key to the game was stopping
(31:18):
Chase Brown because you can't let everything go right for
the for the Bengals, and Chase Brown, who was like
a revelation for them last year had two point seven
yards per carry, that was his average going into this year.
You can't allow both because if you allow both, you're
done right. And that's what happened last night. Chase Brown
(31:38):
had only eleven carries. Eleven carries for one hundred and
eight yards nine point eight yards per carry. What surprised me,
I think the most max last night was that the
Bengals got both going, and I think if the Steelers
could have could have slowed up one or the other.
(31:59):
You know, there's a bit of a building block effect
you start to run. Stop the run that helps you
against the pass because they get into more third and longs,
and eventually they're gonna get into a couple of third
and lungs.
Speaker 4 (32:11):
They're gonna cost them.
Speaker 2 (32:12):
You're gonna get a strip sack, you're gonna get an interception,
You're gonna get something that's gonna throw their rhythm off
a deflected ball that because you bring the blitz, it
wobbles up in the air and you intercept. But that
stuff didn't happen because you didn't stop the run, and
the run was enough of a factor, even though you know,
he only ran at eleven times and p Ryan ran
at seven more times, only eighteen rushes. As the Bengals
(32:35):
team that throws the ball a ton, but when you
couldn't stop the run, you were really kind of at
their mercy for what they were doing offensively.
Speaker 5 (32:46):
Yeah, they got to dictate terms to the defense, actly, exactly,
and that you know, a two dimensional team is what
we want offensively, right, is what the Steelers' offense was
last night too.
Speaker 3 (32:58):
Right.
Speaker 5 (33:00):
We were very efficient, but the problem was they stopped
us at more key times than we stopped them. And
that's where the frustration was, I think was the fact
that the offense stall.
Speaker 3 (33:17):
And listen, listen, I'm nitpicking here.
Speaker 5 (33:20):
About a team that put an offense that put up
thirty one points, right, you know, but they came away
with the bigger plays.
Speaker 3 (33:27):
Right. Two turnovers is a hell of a thing to overcome.
Speaker 5 (33:31):
Yeah, one of those being in a shorter field, you know,
it led to a three play scoring drive off of
the first interception, and the second one was still great,
great field position, and the Steelers just.
Speaker 3 (33:46):
You know, trying to make a play. And I think
it hurt even more.
Speaker 5 (33:51):
When that first interception happened, because it was at a
moment where you really didn't need depressed in that moment, right,
And that's what the frustration was, was that this team
had just come down, had just scored on you know,
(34:12):
a pretty medium length drive. So it was an opportunity
where we were talking about your defense needs a blow.
They need to they need to recover, they need to
come back to life.
Speaker 3 (34:24):
And literally one play.
Speaker 5 (34:27):
In their back out on the field, you know, like
not even good enough to get a good a good
pull from the water bottle on the sideline before you
were sudden changed right back on the field. Hadn't had
a chance to really even get through your adjustments on
the sideline.
Speaker 3 (34:45):
Like that's how fast and frequent it was.
Speaker 5 (34:48):
And that was like that turning point that led to
the literally twenty straight points unanswered Kinger.
Speaker 3 (34:57):
I mean.
Speaker 5 (34:59):
Probably I'm trying to figure. I don't want to say,
is it was the worst like type of chain of events,
but it was pretty close.
Speaker 3 (35:12):
It was pretty close.
Speaker 5 (35:13):
And this defense just never rose to the occasion to
be able to say.
Speaker 3 (35:18):
Hey, we can hang our hat on this.
Speaker 5 (35:20):
Hey are personnel grouping, We've got a good matchup. No,
it just it proved that how many quarters you put
out there, Jamar Chase was gonna get forced fed the
football and he was going to make something happen.
Speaker 3 (35:33):
And that's exactly what he did. And he had his.
Speaker 5 (35:37):
Will and one of those key moments I remember it,
you know, the second to last play of the game
got to have it moment on third and third medium
and a shallow drag takes you out yep, right.
Speaker 3 (35:53):
Because there was nobody in there.
Speaker 5 (35:54):
And there's actually a still shot out on the internet
right now, rob where you see it. You see the
thing down marker clearly, you see the line the game.
You see where Jamar Chase catches it. Then you also
see no Steeler in the frame for ten yards five
yards forward and five yards behind and five yards to
his left, like he is literally in like a seven
(36:16):
x seven yard box that nobody can get to him.
And that was what was frustrating, Like you had to
know where one was at all times, and they deployed
him in a multitude of ways. You know, there was
man to man on him, there was ISO on him.
Speaker 3 (36:36):
Then there was zone.
Speaker 5 (36:38):
And of all the people to lose in the zone,
he's the one you cannot afford to lose in the zone.
And he and he got free twenty three out of
forty seven targets by Joe Flacco last night. Was an
absurd stat line. He literally got fifty percent of the
(37:02):
targets by Joe Flacco, and he made us pay.
Speaker 4 (37:09):
He did Steelers lose. It's a tough one.
Speaker 2 (37:13):
They lose by the final score of thirty three to
thirty one. We want to remind you that you can
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(37:34):
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Steelers Pro Shop at shop dot Steelers dot com. Back
with more on the Steelers loss last night.
Speaker 4 (37:44):
Instance
He is in the locker room with King and Starks
on Steelers Nation Radio, presented by your neighborhood Forward Store.
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dot Steelers dot com.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
And we thank you very much for being with us
in the locker room with Max Stark's Justin Miller's controls.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
In our iHeart studio.
Speaker 4 (00:34):
I'm Rob King coming to you. Max.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
It was like I just saw you just a little
short period of time ago in Cincinnati where you are still.
Speaker 5 (00:44):
Yes, I am still here in Cincinnati, and yeah, still
at the end of the crime.
Speaker 4 (00:52):
It is the scene of the crime. Really, I'm sure
a little bit.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
We have lots of specifics to get into, but you know,
if you just want to give me a thumbnail of
your thoughts on this loss, the cons and if there
are some pros for you as well.
Speaker 5 (01:09):
So, I mean, uh, you know, as I've been trying
to reconcile this game in my brain, it's just missed opportunities.
You missed opportunity for the Steelers, a missed opportunity for us,
in the AFC North to to have really taken a
(01:30):
stranglehold on this division and really separated ourselves with a
prime opportunity to win. Now, I know, you're fighting history
and you're fighting what could have been, and you're also fighting,
you know, the nature of success. How do you handle success?
(01:52):
And we've got a first glimpse of how this team
was handling the success, but also how do you handle
the set now, the setback of having to reset the
quote unquote things that you could control, you were controlling
until you weren't. And you know, I have my thoughts
(02:14):
about the defense, which I'm sure we'll get, we'll get,
we'll get around to, but it wasn't good enough defensively,
was not good enough at all. And there's a higher
level of demand and expectation on that group over the
offense because of the amount of resources draft picks and
(02:34):
and the and the and the and the like that
have been spent to procure this highly decorated, highly touted,
highly renowned defense.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
And you brought them in town for this week. Let
me reiterate that again. You you you.
Speaker 5 (02:55):
Went and secured these guys in the off season for
this week. Yep, this was the team. This was this
was the object. This was the point of why you
made the moves this offseason that you did. So that's
where I think, you know, as far as the negatives,
but I mean positives, I'm leaning on Jalen Warren one
(03:16):
hundred yard rushing game, third such game, congratulations, pat Rwo
goes over one hundred and has two teddies as well, congratulations.
But that's really it for the congratulations and the kudos
I mean, offensive line not giving up a sack, you know,
(03:36):
making yourself available, Aaron Rodgers, overcoming you know, the interceptions,
and still putting us in a position to win. There's
a lot of good mixed in with a lot of
bad that in my head just kind of makes it
just you know, obviously negative one because you can't get
(03:57):
in that zero gain because that would be a.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
High but as it would, you know. But that's what
I think. But that's why I think it is.
Speaker 5 (04:06):
I think it's it's that type of that type of
thing where you know, it was just man, what could
have been?
Speaker 3 (04:13):
What could have been?
Speaker 4 (04:16):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (04:18):
Right, I think that that is probably what a lot
of Steelers fans are thinking, and some some gradient of
that what could have been? You know, and there's there's
a lot of uh yeah, you know, like if you
ever see a soundboard and you know you have zero
and then it's pinned over to the right and the red.
There's a lot of gradients within that, within that thought.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
And I'm sure a lot of Steelers fans are thinking
different things, but that is the upshot. You had an opportunity.
You didn't win the game. You had an opportunity to
really really put a stranglehold on the AFC.
Speaker 4 (04:50):
North didn't do it.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
And Max, as you and I talked about, you know,
we look at those power rankings and we kind of
chuckle over them. You know this wee uh you know,
one ranking had the Bills fifteenth, another had him third.
You know, it is a it is parody more than
I've than I can recall seeing. I mean, I'd probably
not have to sit back and go back through the years,
(05:14):
but I can't recall off the top of my head
a season in which there's been more parody than this season.
In the NFL, last night was another another shot at that.
And this was you know for the for the Bengals,
this saved their season, right, I mean, if you're two and.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
Five, boy, Oh boy, it's hard.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
Even with the firepower, they have to think that you
are going to not find some losses across across the way.
But we talked about this as well. They ran through
a meat grinder of a schedule. They were their opponents
of their last and their last four losses had a
combined record of fourteen to seven and one not a
losing team among them. They lost all those games, right,
(06:02):
but they were not getting good quarterback played. Jake Browning
was really really struggling, which I found a little mystifying
because he was so good a couple of years ago
and it wasn't like he was just you know, that's
not an offense in which the backup quarterback comes in
and puts it in the belly of a big two
hundred and fifty pound running back and you rely on
defense and running game. No, that quarterback's got to be
(06:22):
able to throw, and Browning did a couple years ago.
This year, for whatever reason, he really really struggled. And
you put Flacco in there and it's a different deal.
They absolutely had to win that game. And now that
they've won that game, you know, everything all bets are off.
They're they're two to zero in the division. They're three
(06:42):
and four, they've got an opportunity, They've run through some
of their toughest teams. Now all of a sudden, they're
a different team. They're looking, they're stepping up and saying,
look at us. And you know, this year, this could
have had a four game lead coming out of this
over the over the Ravens. Who's another team that I
wouldn't give up on just yet. And you and they,
of course the Steers haven't played him yet during this
(07:04):
downturn for them, so uh, you know, this this game
just you know, changes the complexion of the a f
C North. You know, we shouldn't be shocked by it
in a in a in a league of parody, like
I was saying at at the top of this comment,
But that's what it is right now.
Speaker 4 (07:21):
It is a It.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Is an a f C North that just in one
game got a whole lot more complicated and from the outside,
a whole lot more interesting.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
And Rob, I think I look at this.
Speaker 5 (07:37):
And it was just it was so tough to believe that.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
A quarterback could make such a difference. And maybe that.
Speaker 5 (07:48):
Quarterback because the name Joe, there's an affinity here in Cincinnati.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
For Joe's and only only a joke can win a game.
Speaker 5 (07:59):
Right now, we're the Bengals along with a jmr so
pretendingly your name has to have it.
Speaker 4 (08:04):
Yeah, or a Chase but Chase Brown, Yeah, Jamar Chase.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
Yeah, Jamar Chase Brown. It's a law firm, but.
Speaker 5 (08:17):
It's This is one of those things where you thought
everything was trending up, and even with the short week,
a shorthanded team, you thought there was going to be
an opportunity here for the series, and it was to
a degree.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
But I was really shocked.
Speaker 5 (08:34):
At how efficient this offensive line that's been oft humendously
criticized oft you know, talked about the fact that Joe
Burrow can't stay healthy behind this offensive line, but.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
Yet Joe Flacco aka Joe Cool was able to it
and they were able to get the run gig going.
Speaker 5 (09:04):
They tripled their output of running production against us, Like
that's not something you take lightly. And for as far
as we thought we had gotten, realized how far away
we still are. And that was that was the frustration,
(09:26):
because let's just face it, thirty one points is supposed to.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
Win these games.
Speaker 4 (09:32):
Yep.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
It wins. It wins games more often than not.
Speaker 5 (09:37):
And to hit over that thirty point plateau as a team,
it's like, oh, man, you're totally scored thirty one points.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
I was like, oh, that's a win. That's a win.
Speaker 5 (09:50):
If you asked me that any other time before the
game started. Hell, you could have asked me that. At
the beginning of the game, I was like, Steelers score
thirty one, we're winning. But it's a team game, and
the idea is the other team had the same design.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
B who score thirty three were winning and it was
a battle of wills.
Speaker 5 (10:13):
It was who's going to get the stop, and the
Cincinnati Bengals got the opportune stops at the opportune time
more frequently than the Steelers. They only had one five
and out. Yep, that's as close as we got was
a five and out. Ye had a three play series.
(10:35):
But that three play series ended up in a touchdown.
Not good either, but that's that's what they were up
against last night. And ah, man, you know, tip of
the cap. Tip of the cap to the white Bengals
of Cincinnati.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
Yep, white out last night. Great atmosphere, by the way,
great atmosphere.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
Great atmosphere.
Speaker 5 (10:59):
And now the Cincinnati Bengals are five and one with
that uniform combination.
Speaker 4 (11:05):
Maybe we'll see it more.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
You know, there's gonna be some superstitious guys saying, hey,
you know, I wanted I did want to. I don't
want this to get lost because I think what we're
seeing and probably our expectations are different than what we're
seeing nationally. So you know, all season long, in the
(11:28):
preseason and all season long, and I'm gonna say it
after a loss. You know, I certainly, and I think
you're in the same camp as I, but I don't
want to speak for you.
Speaker 4 (11:39):
Have been.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
Surprised that national media members, people that make their prognostications
about teams didn't have the Steelers having at least as
good a record as they did a year ago when
they were ten and seven and went to the playoffs.
I found pretty much nobody who picked the Steelers to
make the playoffs. And I asked some people in Cincinnati
(12:03):
what their perception was of the Steelers, and they said,
you know what, we that was kind of what we thought.
You know, this, it'll be the nine and eight, ten
and seven type of Steelers. But I think that was
before and I think part of that was because well,
it's forty one year old Aaron Rodgers. He's near the
end of the line. And I think that that that
(12:26):
notion is for me if I'm looking at one more
positive if you needed one more bit of proof that
Aaron Rodgers is a massive upgrade at the quarterback position,
or at least substantial because Russ Wilson played some good football.
Speaker 4 (12:43):
For him last year.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
But if you needed any more proof, I think last
night was the proof. I mean, he was mobile, he's
getting out of the pocket, he's throwing on the run.
That last throw he launched it seventy yards in the air.
I mean, you know, the throat of Friarmouth against Seattle
that was not complete with sixty yards in the air
(13:05):
rolling to his right. If you needed any and we know,
you know, like when people talk about, you know, the
command of the offense and all that stuff, it reminds
me of like, you know, a crafty pitcher, right, and
I'll bring like a Paul Skiens things like Paul Skian's
for the Pirates. He's a crafty pitcher, Like he's really
(13:28):
smart and he knows what he's doing, and crafty means
he's on top of his craft. But he's also throwing
one hundred miles an hour, right, you know, so it's
craft with stuff. This is not just a This is
not a guy who's just gonna, you know, just gonna well,
I'm gonna beat you on gile. He's got guile, but
he's still got plenty of arm talent. And we saw
(13:48):
last night more mobility than you would expect from a
forty one year old guy.
Speaker 4 (13:53):
Is he peak? Aaron Rodgers?
Speaker 2 (13:54):
You tell me a guy who's more peak at forty
one than they are at twenty seven. But I just
think think there's you know, if if I'm saying, okay,
what's the one positive from this game, if if if
you were a team, if you were a guy watching
this team for the first time, this should cement the
fact that Aaron Rodgers still has plenty of ability to
(14:15):
lift up a team, not just guide it, to lift
up a team. That would be my positive takeaway from
this from this game. I thought he just cemented that.
Not that I had any doubts really, but I just
thought there was there was more on display last night
once again.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
And I'll and I'll give you that.
Speaker 5 (14:35):
I think I think that is that that is definitely
a big surprise and something that we kind of.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
Figured wanted to thought but couldn't confirm.
Speaker 5 (14:48):
Type of situation with with just where we thought Aaron
was and what and you're right, this submitted that the scramble,
the mobility a the rollouts or unofficial rollouts more like
force outs, arm talent, arm speed was just on full display.
(15:11):
You you got a full Hey, what do you think
of this quarterback?
Speaker 3 (15:17):
You know playing?
Speaker 5 (15:18):
I mean you got a full You got a full
on visual scouting report last night about Aaron Rodgers and
the fear is or the reality is, yes, I can
do it all and that's what teams are gonna have
to fit when he's back. I thought, I thought it
was a very vivid visual on the television screen last night.
(15:39):
They showed Joe Flacko was sitting on the sidelines, and
then you saw Jake Brownie and then you saw Joe
Burrow like on the sidelines, and it was just like, yeah, that's.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
That's the room. That that that that that beats you
Donal Washington.
Speaker 5 (15:57):
I mean, as much as we talk about it, it
was just he you know, you were like, you know,
we couldn't find a role for him. The first couple
of years, but Aaron did, right, you know what I'm saying. Like,
you know, it was like, oh, there's all these just
random guys. Aaron found a way to activate all of
them and make them all a factor. And just the
(16:18):
Scottie Miller catch last night just went to go and
show you.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
No matter where you are.
Speaker 5 (16:24):
On this roster, if you're on it and they trust
you to put you out there for a play, guess
what I'm going to go test it. I'm going to
go get the ball in your hands immediately and see
what you do with it.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
That's just that there's something you can't.
Speaker 5 (16:38):
Describe, that type of level of grit intelligence and you know,
competitiveness that is on display at that position. So man,
it's just once again, you know, it stings because you
know the window for that for taking advantages is shrinking
right now. And you had a chance to really really
(17:01):
go ahead and really blow this division up.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
And now we're back to back to kick and screaming
and clawing, you.
Speaker 2 (17:11):
Know, And I get it, and we're licking our wounds
a little bit right now, you know. But such as
life in the NFL, right, I mean, it's crazy. We
are entering this week, this weekend's play and the only
one loss teams. The only teams with one loss Indianapolis
(17:34):
at five and one, Tampa Bay at five and one,
and the Packers at three to one on one A
little sister kissing there, I mean three one and one,
you know, But it is just Max, I can't remember
this kind of parody.
Speaker 4 (17:51):
You know.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
We went through the power rankings on Wednesday one more
time with Wes and they had who did they have
number one? They had Tampa Bay number one, and they
had Houston number twenty. And I made the comment to
to Wes that I can't remember this much parody in
the NFL. And if you told me that the Super
(18:14):
Bowl was number one Tampa against number twenty Houston, I
wouldn't be shocked, you know, I wouldn't be like, what
are you talking about? And I think every other team
in between is a contender and every week is going
to be a dogfight for the most part. And that's
(18:35):
what we saw last night. We saw a Bengals team
desperate to claw themselves into that. And by the way,
the Bengals weren't in that top twenty. The Ravens, who
I think, if they get healthy, they're gonna be a problem.
They weren't in that top twenty. I just it isn't
there is. Look, there's it's always every NFL game seems
to come down to two or three plays, right, you know,
(18:55):
even ones that wind up with a blowout like we
saw earlier this year Minnesota, you know, coming up with
the big turnovers, Isaiah Rodgers as we were scouting them
before the Steelers game, coming up with the big turnovers,
you know, to to totally totally turned that game into
a blowout for them. There's a couple of plays here
there last night that could have happened. I just think,
(19:17):
buckle up, man, It's gonna be like that all year long.
To a degree that I don't know, I'm scratching my
head thinking, have I ever seen parody quite like what
we have this year in the NFL?
Speaker 3 (19:32):
No, I don't think we've seen that type of period.
Speaker 5 (19:34):
I mean, there has been so much turnover from week
to week. The second it feels like the second you
put a team at the number one spot, they're gonna
blow it, right, That's that's.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
Just how it is.
Speaker 5 (19:46):
And and you know, we had the Eagles there, you know,
and then they lets you down. Then we put the
bills there, then the bills lets you down. Do you
put the Detroit Lions there? Then the Detroit Lions fall.
Like it's just it's like, come on, like where is it,
Like you said, the JACKSONVI Jaguars sitting there at four
and one right now? You know, Buffalo Bills are reeling
after two straight losses, you know, and and then of
(20:09):
course here's where the parity kind of lacks. Kansas City
is now getting on a roll and they're getting back
Rashi Rice this weekend. Right, It's like, oh god, now
we're gonna have to move the bank. You know, the
Chiefs backed up in the spot figure in there for years.
But that's that's what it is. It's about who can,
(20:29):
who can? Who can who can? Who can reinvent themselves
quicker is essentially the question, right because.
Speaker 3 (20:39):
Even with.
Speaker 5 (20:41):
All this movement between you know, three four teams just
still only one or two units on the football field.
Speaker 3 (20:51):
Right.
Speaker 5 (20:53):
So it's just it's something that I'm just I'm excited
about and but yet at the same time it does
it just frustrates you. I Mean, you know, you're excited
for it, but then it's frustrating when things don't go
your way, because you know, this is one of the
(21:13):
few years where you have that rare opening where you
could you could make something special happen if you take.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
Care of your business. Yeah, but that taking care of
your business. I don't think it's ever been tougher. I mean,
we could talk more about you know, I was just
just for giggles, you know, I'm looking at the Giant
schedule right, like three weeks in Russell Wilson at quarterback,
you're rowing three. Now your losses are Washington relatively, you know,
you gave him a bit of a tussle Dallas and
(21:42):
overtime on the road Kansas City, you lose twenty two
to nine. You know, people probably would have said, there's
a bad team. There's the coach on the hot seat.
It's Brian Dable. What happens? You come back? You beat
the Chargers, right, there was there was a team that
was a that was a ranking Darling. Right, you beat
the Chargers twenty one to eighteen. Then you lose at
(22:03):
New Orleans. What have we got here? You know, young
quarterback who made some mistake. Then you come back on
Thursday night football by the way, at home Thursday night
football for road teams is a killer. The record is
horrible around the NFL, so file that away when you
think about this loss.
Speaker 4 (22:18):
Again.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
I'm not trying to make excuses because there's a lot
of things that the Steelers needed to do better last night.
But then you come back and you wallop the Eagles
thirty four to seventeen. So are you a bad football team?
Speaker 4 (22:32):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
I'm kind of intrigued to see what they're going to
do at Denver this week because everybody's got Denver way
up there and the power rankings. Even though they had
to cling and hang on by their fingernails to beat
the Jets thirteen to eleven. It's a crazy year, Max,
an absolutely crazy year. And we'll get more of your comments.
I'm sorry I rambled getting into the break here, but
(22:53):
it's a wild season.
Speaker 4 (22:54):
Man.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
We're going to talk more about last night's loss, what
it means for the Steelers, what it means for the Bengals,
what it means for the AFC North when we continue
in the Locker Room, presented by your neighborhood Ford Store
and the Steelers Pro Shop on Steelers Nation Radio, a
part of the Steelers Audio Network.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
This is in the locker Room with King and Starks
on Steelers Nation Radio presented by your neighborhood Ford Store.
The F one P fifty is the official truck of
the Pittsburgh Steelers and by Steelers Pro Shop. Get it
direct from the team at the Steelers Pro Shop at
shop dot Steelers dot com.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
And metaphorically, the music is turned down where silent as
we're taking the tape off of our ankles, throwing them,
waddening it up and throwing it away quietly heading to
the shower.
Speaker 4 (23:52):
As the Steelers lose last night.
Speaker 2 (23:53):
That's all metaphorically, of course, we're actually sitting in chairs
as we bring you the locker room here on the
Steelers Audio Network and the Steelers Injury Report presented by UPMC,
the official healthcare provider and health plan of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Mike Tomlinson after the game he didn't think there was
any concerns the injury front, So that's good news for
(24:16):
the Steelers. And as long as we're talking about that,
one of these sort of quiet you know to me
guys that popped out a little bit in a limited
role was a guy filling in for an injured player
that's Keishawn Williams filling in for Calvin Austin, who's got
(24:36):
a shoulder and seemed to be trending in a good spot.
We'll see when Mike Tomlin addresses the media next week.
But you know, I know it's just it's a smaller
positive because he only touched the ball a few times.
But Keishawn Williams, you know, five returns, three kickoff returns
average over thirty yards with a thirty seven yard long
(24:58):
that's the longest kick return for any Steeler this year.
And two punt returns for thirteen point five yards with
a seventeen yard punt return. As long as we're talking
about the injuries presented by UPMC Max, Keishawn Williams, you know,
it showed why he could be, you know, potentially a guy.
You know, he looked he intrigued him coming out of school.
(25:20):
He was a free agent, undrafted. We saw him in
camp there felt like there was a little buzz around him,
and I think we kind of saw why.
Speaker 4 (25:29):
Last night and the game before too.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
By the way, I feel like I'm speaking into a
vacuum justin Oh, we lost Max start for a moment,
So Keishawn Williams. Do you remember had a forty seven
yard punt return last week that was called back due
to an injury In this game, you know, nothing called
(25:56):
back and he was able to provide this year this
with his spark. I think I think we have Max
now got you got to turn that volume. Who's the
volume down?
Speaker 3 (26:07):
No? The I had the mute button on.
Speaker 4 (26:09):
Oh right, yeah, yeah, you know, I'm here local and when.
Speaker 5 (26:13):
You don't have it on the screen, you don't know,
you know, during the breaks, you know, I'm over here
on my phone like doing other stuff and answering text
and stuff.
Speaker 3 (26:22):
And I was talking and I was sitting there. I
was like, oh yeah, and then I'm like, oh god,
mute button.
Speaker 5 (26:26):
It's it's like the old old ticker thing when you
have to hit the we have to turn your your
box on for the.
Speaker 3 (26:33):
Games back when you actually had a box. So that's
my fault. I apologize.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
So youre you you were saying really kind of to yourself,
but now we'd like to bring you to a broader audience.
Speaker 4 (26:42):
Your thoughts on Keishawn Williams.
Speaker 5 (26:45):
I thought it's been fantastic to have a guy that
could come and step in and feel so comfortable like
doing his role like normally there there's like that that
period where a guy has to figure it out fit
in and Keishawan picked up where he left off a
(27:07):
training camp and there's been no drop off in the
production on the punt or kick returns.
Speaker 3 (27:13):
And I mean think about.
Speaker 5 (27:15):
Last week, he would have he would have been super
explosive on the scene, you know, but a penalty which
let's just face it, you know, kind of this game
also a theme, right, penalties for the team that was
least penalized in this league at least going into last week,
has just had a run of penalties, and you know,
(27:38):
you could argue sloppy football, but Keishawn Williams has been
just you know, came in and he's almost in, you know,
dare I say it enhanced the return game prowess of
a team, and I just I love that opportunity. Now,
you know, hey, if that's what your job is, as
(28:00):
what your job is going to be, you know, I
would love to see him in the wide receiver position
as well, doing some thing because I thought he did
some things in Carolina, right, you know, he had a
heck of a final you know audition. In fact, he
was a guy we thought was going to be on
this team, you know, depending on which mock version of the.
Speaker 3 (28:19):
Fifty three man roster we were going with.
Speaker 5 (28:22):
But it was just a breath of fresh air to
know that you didn't have to worry about that department
and you think about just getting the ball out in
those critical situations in the second half and returning the
ball in and around the forty yard line, so getting
more than just a kick, you know, a touchback type
(28:42):
of result when you get those positive results like he
did consistently, you know, getting out there between him and
Kenneth game well, getting out to the thirty nine forty
yard line forty two yard line last night on those
returns and shortening the field I thought I thought were
key moments that kept us in this game. So, you know,
very very hearty tip of the cap to Keishawn Williams
(29:04):
on the special team side.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
You know, Max, as I look at this game and
I look at sort of where the Steelers are, and
you know, Aaron Rodgers after the game said, look, man,
we're foreign to right. This is what happens. And you
know we've mentioned and again not to make excuses road teams.
On Thursday nights. Just talked to Philadelphia last week. It
(29:27):
is a tough thing to do. Division game on the
road Thursday night favors a home team. I mean, it
just favors the home team. Yeah, and we talked about
the desperation for the Bengals and all that. But you know,
as we look at larger picture, you know, we saw
the offense kind of trending in the right direction. And
I don't think you can make blanket statements in the NFL, like,
(29:51):
you know, the way the defense has been playing, you're thinking, boy,
when the offense catches up and you know, maybe you
get into you know, November and into December and everything's
clicking and you know, everything's rolling along in the in
the right direction.
Speaker 4 (30:04):
You know, improvements are not linear.
Speaker 2 (30:06):
The offense looked to me like the way you want
the offense to look at the end of the year.
Speaker 4 (30:13):
The defense didn't look that way.
Speaker 2 (30:16):
After looking like they were the they were the unit
that was that was getting to where they needed to
be the fastest, the faster, because there's we're not going
to including special teams, so we're just talking about two
so we go not s English degree. So the faster
unit to get there and then after this week, you know,
(30:36):
people were throwing their hands up in the air. By
the way, I'm kind of throwing my hands up in
the air a little bit too, But it just wasn't
the performance that I was expecting. No disrespect to Flacco,
but the one that got me Max. You know, going
into this game, we do the Matchup Show with Matt
Williamson and Missy Matthews on Thursday. Well normally it's Thursdays,
(30:57):
but this week we taped it on Tuesday to get
people ready for the games. You look at the key
matchups and obviously you go out and get this defense
to you know, the corners for this game, and Mike
Tomlin said, yeah, this is why we have Jalen Ramsey
and Darius Slay. My key to the game was stopping
(31:18):
Chase Brown because you can't let everything go right for
the for the Bengals, and Chase Brown, who was like
a revelation for them last year had two point seven
yards per carry, that was his average going into this year.
You can't allow both because if you allow both, you're
done right. And that's what happened last night. Chase Brown
(31:38):
had only eleven carries. Eleven carries for one hundred and
eight yards nine point eight yards per carry. What surprised me,
I think the most max last night was that the
Bengals got both going, and I think if the Steelers
could have could have slowed up one or the other.
(31:59):
You know, there's a bit of a building block effect
you start to run. Stop the run that helps you
against the pass because they get into more third and longs,
and eventually they're gonna get into a couple of third
and lungs.
Speaker 4 (32:11):
They're gonna cost them.
Speaker 2 (32:12):
You're gonna get a strip sack, you're gonna get an interception,
You're gonna get something that's gonna throw their rhythm off
a deflected ball that because you bring the blitz, it
wobbles up in the air and you intercept. But that
stuff didn't happen because you didn't stop the run, and
the run was enough of a factor, even though you know,
he only ran at eleven times and p Ryan ran
at seven more times, only eighteen rushes. As the Bengals
(32:35):
team that throws the ball a ton, but when you
couldn't stop the run, you were really kind of at
their mercy for what they were doing offensively.
Speaker 5 (32:46):
Yeah, they got to dictate terms to the defense, actly, exactly,
and that you know, a two dimensional team is what
we want offensively, right, is what the Steelers' offense was
last night too.
Speaker 3 (32:58):
Right.
Speaker 5 (33:00):
We were very efficient, but the problem was they stopped
us at more key times than we stopped them. And
that's where the frustration was, I think was the fact
that the offense stall.
Speaker 3 (33:17):
And listen, listen, I'm nitpicking here.
Speaker 5 (33:20):
About a team that put an offense that put up
thirty one points, right, you know, but they came away
with the bigger plays.
Speaker 3 (33:27):
Right. Two turnovers is a hell of a thing to overcome.
Speaker 5 (33:31):
Yeah, one of those being in a shorter field, you know,
it led to a three play scoring drive off of
the first interception, and the second one was still great,
great field position, and the Steelers just.
Speaker 3 (33:46):
You know, trying to make a play. And I think
it hurt even more.
Speaker 5 (33:51):
When that first interception happened, because it was at a
moment where you really didn't need depressed in that moment, right,
And that's what the frustration was, was that this team
had just come down, had just scored on you know,
(34:12):
a pretty medium length drive. So it was an opportunity
where we were talking about your defense needs a blow.
They need to they need to recover, they need to
come back to life.
Speaker 3 (34:24):
And literally one play.
Speaker 5 (34:27):
In their back out on the field, you know, like
not even good enough to get a good a good
pull from the water bottle on the sideline before you
were sudden changed right back on the field. Hadn't had
a chance to really even get through your adjustments on
the sideline.
Speaker 3 (34:45):
Like that's how fast and frequent it was.
Speaker 5 (34:48):
And that was like that turning point that led to
the literally twenty straight points unanswered Kinger.
Speaker 3 (34:57):
I mean.
Speaker 5 (34:59):
Probably I'm trying to figure. I don't want to say,
is it was the worst like type of chain of events,
but it was pretty close.
Speaker 3 (35:12):
It was pretty close.
Speaker 5 (35:13):
And this defense just never rose to the occasion to
be able to say.
Speaker 3 (35:18):
Hey, we can hang our hat on this.
Speaker 5 (35:20):
Hey are personnel grouping, We've got a good matchup. No,
it just it proved that how many quarters you put
out there, Jamar Chase was gonna get forced fed the
football and he was going to make something happen.
Speaker 3 (35:33):
And that's exactly what he did. And he had his.
Speaker 5 (35:37):
Will and one of those key moments I remember it,
you know, the second to last play of the game
got to have it moment on third and third medium
and a shallow drag takes you out yep, right.
Speaker 3 (35:53):
Because there was nobody in there.
Speaker 5 (35:54):
And there's actually a still shot out on the internet
right now, rob where you see it. You see the
thing down marker clearly, you see the line the game.
You see where Jamar Chase catches it. Then you also
see no Steeler in the frame for ten yards five
yards forward and five yards behind and five yards to
his left, like he is literally in like a seven
(36:16):
x seven yard box that nobody can get to him.
And that was what was frustrating, Like you had to
know where one was at all times, and they deployed
him in a multitude of ways. You know, there was
man to man on him, there was ISO on him.
Speaker 3 (36:36):
Then there was zone.
Speaker 5 (36:38):
And of all the people to lose in the zone,
he's the one you cannot afford to lose in the zone.
And he and he got free twenty three out of
forty seven targets by Joe Flacco last night. Was an
absurd stat line. He literally got fifty percent of the
(37:02):
targets by Joe Flacco, and he made us pay.
Speaker 4 (37:09):
He did Steelers lose. It's a tough one.
Speaker 2 (37:13):
They lose by the final score of thirty three to
thirty one. We want to remind you that you can
gear up the latest game day necessities at the Officials
steelersh Pro shops. Get the latest Sideline apparel, jerseys, terrible towels,
authentic memorabilia and custom exclusives you can only find directly
from the team. Visit one of the Officials Steaders Pro
shops located at Akrosuur Stadium, Grove City, Premium Outlet, ter
(37:34):
Tanger Outelet's, or gear up online at shop dot Steelers
dot com. Get it direct from the team at the
Steelers Pro Shop at shop dot Steelers dot com. Back
with more on the Steelers loss last night.
Speaker 4 (37:44):
Instance
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