T.J. Watt, Cameron Heyward lament 'unacceptable' showing from Steelers defense in loss to Bengals

Coming into Thursday night, the Cincinnati Bengals had one of the worst offenses in the NFL, but that didn't stop them from torching the Pittsburgh Steelers through the air and on the ground en route to a 33-31 win. It was a long night for the Steelers defense, which left two of its biggest stars immensely frustrated.

Less than 10 days after joining the Bengals, quarterback Joe Flacco threw for 342 yards and three touchdowns. Receiver Ja'Marr Chase couldn't be covered and produced a historic night. Perhaps even worse, Cincinnati's last-place rushing offense totaled 142 yards.

Speaking with reporters after the game, Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward said the secondary will get some unfair blame when people see Flacco's numbers. Heyward said Pittsburgh got beaten at the line of scrimmage, which allowed Cincinnati to break out of its slump, especially on the ground.

"It's not the secondary; that's a cop-out," Heyward said via ESPN. "I think the front line, we got to control the line of scrimmage a lot better. I'm pissed off. We didn't take care of our job. ... They were last in rushing, and the way we gave it up today, that takes the cake.

"We got to stop the f---ing run. That's as simple as that."

Steelers' loss to Bengals extends Pittsburgh's nightmare Thursday road losing streak to 45 years

John Breech

Edge rusher T.J. Watt echoed similar sentiments, calling it an "absolutely unacceptable performance" from the Steelers defense. In addition to getting gashed with regularity, Pittsburgh failed to force a turnover for the second straight week. Watt said that's a very dangerous combination.

'We pride ourselves on getting that splash," Watt said. "I don't think we had one last week. Didn't have one this week. If you're not stopping the run, not getting off the field and not creating turnovers, you're in a whole world of hurt."

The Steelers got 31 points out of Aaron Rodgers and the offense but were unable to take advantage of it because the defense couldn't get critical stops.

"I look at it as our offense gave us a ton of points, and as a defense, that is more than enough," Heyward said. "As a defense, we got to own it. As a D-line, that run game is a big blemish on our group right now. Your offense gives you 30 points, you should feel good that you can win a game."

The Steelers have some extra time to regroup as they prepare for a big challenge against the Green Bay Packers in Week 8.