Winners and Losers From the Bengals' 34-12 Loss to Steelers

CINCINNATI — The Bengals lost to the Steelers 34-12 on Sunday afternoon to fall to 3-7 on the season.

Cincinnati has lost three-straight games and any realistic chance of making the playoffs went out the window.

Here are our winners and losers from the Bengals' third-straight loss:

Winners:

No one. There aren't any. There are bright spots in every game, but no one played at the level they needed to on Sunday to go on the road and beat a desperate Steelers team on their field.

Losers

Zac Taylor

Taylor's team needed to play with their hair on fire on Sunday. They didn't. He made multiple questionable decisions throughout the game. From his timeout usage in the second half to putting Chase Brown behind center and letting him run it directly into the heart of the Steelers' defense on their 2-point conversion attempt in the first quarter.

The Bengals have the worst record in the NFL since their 2-0 start. They're 1-7 since Week 3. That matches the Titans and Cardinals (1-7) record over that span. The Raiders (1-6) could match them this week.

Taylor also shared a ridiculous quote in his opening statement after the loss.

"I think ultimately the score is not indicative of how the game played through the first three quarters, but it is what it is," Taylor said.

The Steelers dominated that game. They controlled it from start to finish. Pittsburgh never trailed.

The score might've been a little inflated after Noah Fant's fumble in the fourth quarter, but it certainly wasn't a close game. It's silly to pretend the Bengals were close to winning that game. The score absolutely indicated how dominant Pittsburgh was on Sunday.

The Bengals picked up a first down with the 15-yard penalty on Jalen Ramsey's ejection. They somehow ran six plays, used two timeouts, ran 3+ minutes off the clock, and lost a yard before kicking a field goal? pic.twitter.com/nWOssvr0sA
— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) November 16, 2025

Ja'Marr Chase

Chase only had three catches for 30 yards on 10 targets. He also clearly spit on Jalen Ramsey.

The Bengals need Chase to be great. He wasn't on Sunday and will get a hefty fine this week and maybe a suspension.

Field-level view of the second altercation between Ja'Marr Chase and Jalen Ramsey. Chase said "I didn't spit on nobody."

The video clearly shows he did.#Bengals @FOX19 pic.twitter.com/ooGzInoPdS
— Austin Briski (@austin_briski) November 16, 2025

Bengals' Defense

The Bengals' defense forced three-straight punts in the first half. It felt like they may have turned a corner.

They haven't.

Mason Rudolph completed 12-of-16 passes for 127 yards and one touchdown in the second half. He finished with a 118.5 quarterback rating.

Running back Kenneth Gainwell led the Steelers with 81 receiving yards on seven catches. He had two touchdown catches. Darnell Washington was second on the team with four catches for 67 yards, including a 31-yard catch-and-run that featured embarrassing effort by the Bengals' defense.

Geno Stone had no business missing this tackle. And so to have that kind of effort….
And then to get beat by the same guy later in the game (video in next tweet) is wild pic.twitter.com/QrKv0f8KjV
— James Rapien (@JamesRapien) November 16, 2025

Joe Burrow

Burrow is working his tail off to get back on the field, but even if he does return in the near future, he won't get the opportunity to lead the Bengals to the playoffs. Cincinnati is three games behind Pittsburgh and the Baltimore Ravens beat the Browns on Sunday to keep pace in the division.

The Bengals need a miracle just to get back in the hunt. Unfortunate news for Burrow, who's recovered faster than anyone expected after undergoing toe surgery in September.

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