Cincinnati Bengals' loss to Pittsburgh Steelers shows how much Joe Burrow is missed

On Sunday, the Cincinnati Bengals showed why quarterback Joe Burrow has a $275 million contract.

Before Burrow suffered his season-ending wrist injury, the Bengals were Super Bowl contenders that had the lead in a primetime road game against the best team in the AFC. By the end of the afternoon on Sunday, the Bengals were out of the playoff hunt.

The Bengals lost 16-10 to the Pittsburgh Steelers at Paycor Stadium in quarterback Jake Browning’s first career start, and they don’t have a franchise quarterback to lead them out of adversity this time.

“This is my first time feeling like this,” Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase said. “I really don’t know how it’s going to go.”

With Burrow, the Bengals had a free-flowing, shot-taking and clutch offense. With Browning, the Bengals totaled 10 first downs.

Burrow’s injury impacts every aspect of the team. The Steelers knew that Browning likely wouldn’t be able to beat them with deep throws, so they lined up more linebackers and safeties near the line of scrimmage to focus on stopping the run. As a result, running back Joe Mixon had his worst game of the season, getting only eight carries for 16 yards.

When Browning dropped back to pass, the Steelers did everything in their power to prevent Chase from getting the ball. Burrow has the ability to beat those double teams with pinpoint throws down the field, but Browning hasn’t shown the tools to make those types of throws possible.

“There were some (plays) where it was good to be aggressive and some where I could have just checked it down and maybe not take some sacks,” Browning said. “Part of me getting back into the groove of playing is figuring out, where is that line for me? Where is that line in this offense, and what is the line I need to play on to give us the best chance to win the game?”

In the middle of the third quarter, the Bengals had a 7-3 lead and were driving inside of the red zone. Browning didn’t recognize a disguised coverage that the Steelers threw toward Chase, and Browning threw an interception to Steelers safety Trenton Thompson.

Thompson is a second-year undrafted free agent who was playing in the fourth game of his NFL career. The Bengals have a more talented and a deeper roster than the Steelers, but that advantage only goes so far when you’re starting a backup quarterback.

The Steelers disguised their coverage on Browning’s pick, and Browning hadn’t seen coverages like this one in the preseason.

“That’s a bit of a cop out for me to sit here and say that any interception was because I hadn’t played in a while,” Browning said. “That’s a cop out. I can read out that play and make the right decision.”

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor has said that Burrow’s gift is his ability to process every detail on the field in real time over the course of the play. Burrow knows who’s blitzing, who’s dropping back in coverage and who has a one-step advantage over a defensive back. Burrow does those things better than anyone else in the NFL, but Browning’s awareness cost the Bengals on a few critical drives.

Following Browning’s interception, the Steelers marched 79 yards down the field and took a 10-7 lead. On the following drive, Browning nearly threw another pick as he telegraphed another pass to Chase. That series ended when Browning ran into a sack on third down.

“We’ve got to do a better job up front protecting (Browning) and helping him make easier decisions,” Bengals left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. said. “Jake fought his (tail) off. He went out there with the mentality and the confidence to go win the game. I’m very proud of the way that he fought.”

In a matchup between two offenses that lack firepower, Taylor managed the game with a different approach than he would have used with Burrow and tried to play the field position game. Twice in the first half, the Bengals punted after crossing midfield.

When you play this way, you don’t have much margin for error. The Bengals saw drives die with penalties from Tyler Boyd and Tanner Hudson and on sacks following miscommunications. Now, the Bengals don’t have a quarterback who can bail them out when they make mistakes.

The Bengals took a 7-3 lead in the second quarter when their stars lifted up the offense. Chase reeled in a tipped pass over the middle of the field, broke two tackles and scampered for 31 yards. Later in that drive, Brown held an impressive block, gave Browning the chance to scramble on a bootleg and saw tight end Drew Sample score the first touchdown of the game.

Taylor’s message to the team this week was that even though the Bengals were missing their best player, they still had the core of a Super Bowl contender. Looking at a Bengals team that has plenty of Pro Bowlers, former first-round picks and veterans who had earned big contracts in free agency, Taylor told the team that they had enough talent to compete for a playoff spot.

The Bengals’ defense entered this week facing more pressure to pick up the rest of the roster. Instead, for the third straight week, the unit delivered a disappointing performance.

“The leadership is going to continue to step up, and these guys are going to remain close,” Taylor said. “Our attention to detail has got to continue to be sharp. Just find ways to win in December. This team has shown the ability to do that in the past. I assume we’re going to play teams going forward that have a lot of adversity of their own.”

The Steelers entered the game with the fourth-worst offense in the NFL, and their passing game was so bad that the Steelers fired their offensive coordinator last week. One week after Steelers’ quarterback Kenny Pickett had a historically poor performance on passes past the line of scrimmage, he picked apart the Bengals’ defense over the middle of the field.

Entering Sunday, the Steelers’ offense averaged 280.1 yards per game. Against the Bengals, Pittsburgh topped 400 yards.

As poorly as the entire game went, the Bengals had one more chance in the fourth quarter to take the lead. The Bengals got the ball back down by six points with eight minutes left. On 3rd and 3, the Bengals didn’t get a hand on Steelers All-Pro defensive end T.J. Watt, who ran free for a drive-ending sack.

Now, the Bengals have a 5-6 record and are stuck in last place in the AFC North. It’ll likely take 10 wins to make the playoffs in the crowded AFC playoff picture. The Bengals don’t have any margin for error. And while the defense is playing its worst football in years, the offense didn’t look like it had any answers without Burrow.

“I don’t want us sitting around feeling sorry for ourselves,” Taylor said. “We’ve got to pull ourselves up and just find a way to get wins down the stretch.”

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Bengals Week 12 loss to Steelers shows Joe Burrow's value