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T.J. Watt Calls Steelers' Blowout Loss to Bengals 'Absolutely Embarrassing'

Erin WalshNovember 29, 2021

Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt (90) battles Cincinnati Bengals offensive tackle Isaiah Prince (75) as he tries to rush the passer during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Aaron Doster)
AP Photo/Aaron Doster

The Pittsburgh Steelers were blown out by the Cincinnati Bengals 41-10 on Sunday afternoon, and linebacker T.J. Watt called the loss "absolutely embarrassing" while speaking with reporters after the game. 

"It wasn't something any of us are proud of," Watt said. "You never want to have that feeling coming out of a game. We put it on tape and now we have to own it, move forward and know that everybody sees what just happened today and what we can expect moving forward. We have to stop this before it continues to unravel and become a bigger issue than what it already is.

"We can't keep playing like this. It's absolutely embarrassing."

Pittsburgh's defense was particularly poor in the loss, allowing quarterback Joe Burrow to complete 20 of 24 passes for 190 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Burrow also ran for eight yards and another score. 

Speaking of the ground game, Bengals running back Joe Mixon set a career high with 165 rushing yards and racked up two touchdowns on the ground, while wide receiver Tee Higgins had six catches for 114 yards and a score.

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger completed just 24 of 41 passes for 263 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Steelers running backs Najee Harris, Kalen Ballage, Benny Snell Jr. and Anthony McFarland Jr. combined for just 51 rushing yards in the loss. 

Sunday's loss marked Cincinnati's second win over Pittsburgh this season. It's the first time the Bengals have swept the Steelers in the regular season since 2009, per ESPN. Cincinnati has outscored the Black and Gold by 45 points this year. 

The Steelers' loss to the Bengals came on the heels of a 41-37 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Pittsburgh's defense has allowed 82 points over the last two weeks, which is the most it has allowed in back to-back games since Mike Tomlin became coach in 2007, per Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Dulac also noted that since holding the Cleveland Browns to just 96 yards on the ground on Oct. 31, the Steelers defense has allowed 180.5 rushing yards per game.

The Steelers' defensive struggles have them at the bottom of the AFC North with a 5-5-1 record. Pittsburgh's playoff hopes continue to look worse by the week, and with matchups against the Baltimore Ravens, Minnesota Vikings, Tennessee Titans and Kansas City Chiefs coming up, things are not looking good for Tomlin's squad.