Nov 25, 2022 5 min read

To the victors go the spoils – and the last words.

In the aftermath of the Bengals’ 37-30 victory last Sunday over the Steelers, Cincinnati linebacker Germaine Pratt said Pittsburgh’s offense was easy to figure out.

“It was us giving them plays,” said Pratt of the Steelers’ success. “We knew what they were going to do. They like to do the same plays over and over.”

Of course, those unhappy with the course of the Steelers this season – which would be pretty much everyone – pounced on that statement.

But here’s the thing, if the Bengals knew what was coming so often, why didn’t they do more to stop it?

After all, this was a Steelers team that hadn’t scored more than 23 points in a game this season, with that coming in an overtime win over Cincinnati in Week 1.

Are the Steelers predictable on offense? To a certain extent. But when you’re 10 weeks into a season and playing a division opponent, that’s going to be the case no matter what.

Otherwise, why would players and coaches spend so much time watching film?

“That’s what they say when they are having success, and they don’t say it when they are not,” Tomlin said of Pratt’s accusation. “I don’t worry much about that. I focus on things in our control. When I look at the tape, there were some repeat concepts. But Cincinnati was in some repeat concepts.

“That’s football. When it’s good on good, particularly when it’s the latter part of the season, there are very little secrets. I don’t know that we were all that surprised with anything that they did offensively. Then it comes down to execution. That’s what I would like to keep our focus. We’ve got to execute better. We have to make makeable plays and that’s our goal.”

Tomlin is 100 percent correct on that. Every team has its bread-and-butter plays. Remember David DeCastro pulling around left end as a lead blocker about six times in a row in the fourth quarter of a game in Cincinnati a few years back? The Bengals knew it was coming. They just couldn’t stop it.

It’s no different than Bengals receiver Tyler Boyd claiming the Steelers quit in their game at Acrisure Stadium last season against Cincinnati.

Talk is talk. If the Bengals knew exactly what the Steelers were running, they wouldn’t have given up 30 points.

n Make no mistake, that loss to the Bengals was all about execution, particularly that of Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow.

He made plays when he needed to do so. The Steelers did not.

Burrow threw three passes behind the line of scrimmage in that game. All three went for touchdowns to running back Samaje Perine. That’s poor execution on the part of the Steelers.

Perine and Joe Mixon, the Bengals’ two main running backs, caught seven passes on seven targets for 94 yards and three touchdowns.

That’s why the Steelers lost.

n Nice to see Mapletown’s George Messich honored as one of the high school football coaches of the week at halftime last weekend.

No doubt there is some disappointment for Messich and the Maples after having their 11-game winning streak snapped in the WPIAL quarterfinals, but it was definitely a season worth remembering.

This week’s games

Steelers (plus 2 ½) at Colts: The Steelers have won the past seven meetings against the Colts and have 51 wins on Monday Night Football, one fewer than the 49ers, who won on Monday night last week. The Steelers are a ridiculous 18-3 under Tomlin on Monday nights. The statistics for these two teams are eerily similar across the board. The one difference? The Colts have turned the ball over 19 times, tied with the Saints for the most in the NFL. That will be the difference. Take the Steelers, 20-16

Buccaneers (minus 3) at Browns: The Browns are a mess defensively, despite the presence of Myles Garrett, who apparently makes nobody around him better. There’s sniping, in-fighting and plenty of excuse-making. In other words, it’s a typical late November in Cleveland. The Bucs are coming off a bye. Take the Bucs, 24-20

Bengals (minus 1 ½) at Titans: The Bengals will get Ja’Marr Chase back for this game. But will they have Joe Mixon? That remains to be seen. The Titans have been on a roll, but the opponents they’ve beaten haven’t exactly been a who’s who of the NFL. Take the Bengals, 27-23

Ravens (minus 4) at Jaguars: The Ravens keep winning, but they’ve been less than impressive in doing so. They’ll probably win this one, as well, as the Jaguars have found a way to be 3-7 despite being outscored by just 11 points overall this season. That means they’re the kings of losing close games. Add another one to the tally. Take the Jaguars to cover in a 24-23 loss

Broncos (plus 2 ½) at Panthers: All you need to know about this game is that Sam Darnold is starting at quarterback this week for the Panthers. The Broncos are last in the NFL in scoring at 14.7 points per game. That’s a big reason why the over/under for this game is a pitiful 35 points. But Denver’s defense is easily the best of any unit in this game. Take the Broncos, 17-10

Last Week: 3-1-1 ATS; 5-0 straight up.

Overall: 24-27-4 ATS; 35-20 straight up.