Who is the Steelers “Dud of the Week” after the loss to the Bengals in Week 12?

This was bad. Real bad. The Pittsburgh Steelers officially took the field at Paul Brown Stadium on Sunday afternoon, but most of Steelers’ Nation wonders if the team every really showed up. It was both sides of the ball, and it was one of the worst losses the Steelers have had in a long time. Therefore, we’re changing the rules for this one.

So who gets the anti-game ball?

Highlighting the results of the previous week, let’s check out the winner…

Week 11 “Dud of the Week” Winner: Devin Bush

Winner for being the “Dud of the Week” for two weeks in a row, the Chargers went after Bush all night. In the second half of the game, it seemed as if Justin Herbert was looking to get the ball to wherever Bush was on the field. It ended up being a good strategy as Bush never made them pay.

I do have to say how unpleasant it is to not give a game ball, but the circumstances call for it. I will remind everyone of the PAST rules that it is individual players who will be in the running. Although it could be applicable, it will not be either position groups or coaches who are eligible for this designation... until this week. With the poor performance this week, all bets are off (at least for this week)

So here are the nominations for the biggest “Dud of the Week” in no particular order:

The Run Offense

As much as I was simply going to put this on the offensive line, it didn’t seem fair to put one position group and not any other as you will see in the upcoming categories. Steelers simply couldn’t run the ball. Granted, the game situation determined this as time pressed on, but they were simply no holes for Najee Harris or any of the other running backs for most of the game. The 17 yards in the final two minutes gave the Steelers 51 rushing yards on the day, but with a third of the yards coming in total garbage time, it really doesn’t help.

The Run Defense

The Steelers allowed the Cincinnati Bengals and Joe Mixon to run all over them the entire first half. Mixon had 49 yards rushing on seven attempts on the opening drive of the game alone, and finished the first half with 111 rushing yards on 20 carries. In all the Steelers gave up 198 rushing yards.

The Pass Offense

If there would have been individuals in this version of “Dud of the Week,” Ben Roethlisberger would have been on the list. Although I’m not going to count the fumble against him, both interceptions were not good balls and he had many off target passes on the day. But the receivers weren’t helping at times either. One touchdown when the game had been out of reach for more than a quarter doesn’t make up for a bad performance.

The Pass Defense

Even when the Steelers could put the Bengals in the third and long situation, the pass defense continually gave up big plays. Joe Burrow only had four incompletions before leaving the game in the fourth quarter and seemed to be able to throw the ball wherever he wanted to. James Pierre was picked on extensively throughout the game, but he was not the only problem with the Steelers pass defense.

The Coaching Staff

For a team that was supposed to be “back in the kitchen” with an AFC North road game, the Steelers weren’t ready to have any kind of success on either side of the ball. While ultimately the players have to go step on the field and play, it just seems like the Steelers were not prepared on either side of the ball to put up a fight in this game.

Everybody

This was just on everybody. Yes, it’s not that every single player was a disaster, but every phase, save maybe special teams, saw themselves being completely dominated. Whether it be the offensive players, the defensive players, or the coaching staff, this is laid on the feet all.

So what do you think? Who deserves the “Dud of the Week” for the Steelers this week? Make sure you vote in the poll as this is how the winner will be determined. And of course, feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below.