NFL Premium Review: Steelers vs. Bengals on MNF

1. Ryan Finley got the biggest win of his career on the biggest stage

Although he had only started three NFL games prior to Monday night’s, that didn’t stop Ryan Finley from showing out when he was given a chance to shine. While his stats weren’t the most impressive, Finley showed flashes of solid play and managed to lead the Bengals in a major upset victory on Monday Night Football. The defense certainly helped by generating three turnovers, but the young QB delivered nonetheless when given the opportunity and orchestrated the biggest win of his career on the biggest stage against a team that was poised to potentially go undefeated not too long ago.

2. Big Ben not being 100% is costing his team premium playoff positioning

An NFL player battling injuries in their late 30s is never an easy thing to overcome, and Big Ben is no exception to that. The pain he’s dealing with has clearly taken a toll on him the last few weeks as he’s struggled to make plays he normally would at full health and it’s starting to cost his team a prime playoff spot. The blame can’t be fully put on him though as the whole team has been struggling lately, but if he or someone else doesn’t step up and start making some big plays, Pittsburgh is going to go from the sole first round bye in the AFC to not even make it past the first round. 

3. The Steelers suddenly look like the weakest AFC playoff team

If there’s a time to go through a rough patch during the season, December is not a good time to do so. After getting off to the best start in team history at 11-0, the Pittsburgh Steelers were the team to beat and it looked like 16-0 was very much in the realm of possibility. Fast-forward three weeks after that start, and now they look like a completely different team. 

The offense can’t get into a groove, the defense isn’t making the big plays it was during its 11-game winning streak, and the running game is essentially non-existent. With such a sudden flip of the switch, the Steelers now look like the worst playoff team in the AFC with several other franchises catching fire and making impressive playoff pushes while PIT continues to tumble down a steep hill. It’s hard to envision this Steelers team beating the Chiefs, Bills, Titans, Colts, Dolphins, or even their division-rival Browns or Ravens at this point. This was a devastating loss that could unravel their entire season with their Week 17 matchup vs. CLE now monumental.