Steelers vs Bengals: 3 big takeaways from the loss

The Pittsburgh Steelers fell to 11-3 on Monday night after their 27-17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Pittsburgh had a chance to lock up the AFC North with a win but instead will go into the final two games of the regular season in a race with the Cleveland Browns for what will likely end up the No. 3 seed in the AFC.

Here are our big takeaways from the loss.

The defense can't stay out of its own way

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All night long the Steelers would take one step forward on defense only to take two steps back. Despite holding Bengals quarterback Ryan Finley to just 89 yards passing they allowed him to rush for 47 yards and score a touchdown on the ground. The Steelers defense also created no turnovers and only sacked the third-string quarterback twice.

Problems on the offensive line continue

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Thank goodness offensive tackle Alejandro Villanueva doesn't have internet because he would not like what he would read about his play on Monday night. Both Steelers tackles got beat up in pass protection and none of the starting five showed the physicality to maintain any sort of momentum against the Bengals front. Running back Benny Snell had some nice runs largely of his own doing and too many plays the Steelers offensive line was literally just standing around watching plays fall apart.

Don't blame the coaches for this one

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Guys like head coach Mike Tomlin and offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner take a lot of heat when this team struggles and rightfully so. But on Monday night, blame falls firmly at the feet of the players on the field. The Steelers turned the football over three times and forced no turnovers. The game plan was sound on both sides of the fall but the execution fell flat at every turn.