3 winners (and 3 losers) for Bengals in epic Week 7 win over Steelers

The Cincinnati Bengals put up a valiant fight to snap their four-game losing streak on Thursday against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and their inspired effort yielded a stunning 33-31 victory.

What a relief to see an acceptable product on the field at Paycor Stadium. Cincinnati looked hapless in recent weeks, to the point where head coach Zac Taylor's job was called for by many fans.

Now all of a sudden, there's legitimate optimism coming out of Bengals headquarters — thanks in large part to how the team boldly traded for Joe Flacco in the wake of Joe Burrow's injury and Jake Browning's poor play.

We'll start with that in this edition of Bengals winners and losers from Week 7.

Winner: Joe Flacco/Ja'Marr Chase

What. A. Couple. Of. Studs. Couldn't bring myself to separate this show-stopping pair. The NFL is a weird place. Nobody in their right mind would've thought, on paper, under the given circumstances, that the Bengals had any business beating the Steelers in prime time.

Flacco apparently didn't get the memo! See: This sick TD pass to Tee Higgins — not to mention the perfect go ball he threw to Tee on the game-winning drive.

Also! Force-feeding Ja'Marr Chase targets — twenty-three of them!! — and getting the ball out of one's hand super fast? Great to see, Joe! Chase racked up 16 catches for 161 yards and a touchdown. Absolutely outstanding.

For his part, Flacco was nails as the kids say these days. Completed 31 of 47 passes for 342 yards, three TDs, zero INTs, and a 108.6 passer rating. Somehow felt even better than that stat line. Way to go, Joe.

Loser: Bengals pass rush without Trey Hendrickson

A lot of trade chatter about Trey Hendrickson, who missed Week 7 with a hip injury. Hey Duke Tobin, how about getting on the horn and trading for another pass rusher!? Wouldn't that be nice?

Wishful thinking. Tobin and the personnel department are too proud to admit defeat on any defensive end they draft. See: Joseph Ossai, Myles Murphy, and Cam Sample.

Notice I didn't say Shemar Stewart. He's a rookie who played well in his NFL Debut before getting injured in Week 2. Stewart is just coming back. The man is an athletic freak show who had poor college production. I'll still wait on him to come into his own at this point.

Everyone else, though? it's getting late, late.

Winner: DJ Turner

What an interception by the pass coverage artist whose given name is JuanDrago Turner. Ripped that thing away from DK Metcalf and set up a critical pre-halftime field goal.

Pretty apparent that Turner is becoming one of the best cover cornerbacks in the sport. Desperately need him to be in the wake of Cam Taylor-Britt's healthy scratch from the game on Thursday.

Loser: Bengals rookie linebackers

I wish I could understand what possessed the coaching staff to bench captain Logan Wilson in favor of a fourth-round rookie in Barrett Carter. It was a weird draft pick at the time, and it remains a weird draft pick to this day.

The Bengals had already drafted an off-ball linebacker in the second round in Demetrius Knight Jr., who was an uncontested starter in training camp and missed four tackles in Week 7. If the plan was to bench Wilson, why let him go through camp as an uncontested starter as well?

Carter did himself no favors. Live PFF grades had him as the lowest-graded Bengals defender in the first half whilst outsnapping Wilson by a significant margin. Maybe the extra time before Week 8 will see Al Golden come to his senses and give Wilson that green helmet dot back.

Both Knight and Carter deserve to ride the pine. Do the Bengals know they signed Oren Burks in free agency? Maybe now they do!

Winner: Bengals run blocking unit

Where the heck did this come from!? The Bengals have fielded, in a very literal sense, a historically bad run-blocking offensive line thus far in 2025. All of a sudden, it's like they woke up feeling Baker Mayfield levels of dangerous and decided to take the fight to the Steelers.

In a pregame interview, Flacco emphasized how important it was, based on his past battles against Pittsburgh, to match their physicality. Well, Cincinnati's oft-criticized o-line did that and then some.

I forgot what it was like to see a functional rushing attack. Chase Brown ripped off a 37-yard gain in the first half. Samaje Perine gained healthy chunks on the ground throughout the night. When I say you love to see it, you love to see it!!

Loser: Al Golden

At a certain point, it's on the players to execute a scheme. Bengals defensive coordinator doesn't have the best personnel to work with in the trenches to put it lightly. However, that means you should maybe dial up a blitz or two from time to time, Al!

You saw those awful pass rush win rates from Cincinnati's dudes up front. Golden seems to have a fatal allergy to sending extra rushers. Heck, even on the off occasion an additional rusher tries to get home, wily old QBs like Aaron Rodgers start running all over the pitch and evading sacks left and right.

Golden has his work cut out to get this team to tackle better as well. Again, much of what he dials up comes down to player execution. But to keep asking a four-man rush to produce anything without Hendrickson, and to yield a TD on 3rd and 18 in the third quarter? Not a great look. Nor was that ghastly coverage breakdown on Pat Freiermuth's long touchdown.

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