Bengals Bulletin: Week 2 v. Pittsburgh

Bet you thought I’d only do one of these! The #BengalsBulletin is here to stay bb. We may be dogshit at the game, but the content grind never stops.
WEEK 2: STEELERS 52, BENGALS 41
NOTABLE CINCY CONTRIBUTORS
HB Kenneth Walker (17 ATT, 90 YDS, 1 TD, 3 FUM)
No one ever said “notable” had to be applied in a positive context! Kenneth Walker singlehandedly fumbled the bag (joy2 joy2 joy2) in this matchup, getting stripped left and right including on two straight offensive PLAYS during a 3rd-quarter stretch. The man got tank and immediately fumbled more in one game than he did in the ENTIRE 2023 SEASON. I’ve been deceived. Hoodwinked. Bamboozled. Led astray.
WR Javier Bird (10 REC, 124 YDS, 2 TD)
For the second straight game the rookie out of Washington State has been the most productive offensive weapon on the team by far, seemingly always getting open and continuing to provide Elijah Ford with sure hands and elite tenacity out of the slot. Through two games Elijah Ford has established himself already as easily my favorite AI QB I’ve ever drafted, and if Bird keeps this up he could potentially supplant Kasen Ali as my favorite AI WR. A true weapon whose in-game route running abilities defy his mediocre attributes.
FS Darnell Savage (3 T-A, 1 INT)
With 80 ZCV and great speed, Savage is in my opinion the most underrated player on the Bengals roster in terms of how he plays in-game vs. what you would expect from him as an opponent. The statline doesn’t blow minds, but Savage made an amazing play on the ball for his one pick and consistently found himself in disruptive situations downfield. He has established himself as my starting FS in a crowded safety room.
NOTABLE PITTSBURGH CONTRIBUTORS
QB Aaron Rodgers (16/22, 204 YDS, 1 TD, 2 INT)
This is one of those situations where you would have just had to have watched the game. The statline doesn’t give justice to either how well Jesse passed the ball as a whole or how impossible it felt to stop the Steelers passing attack as the game progressed. Slinger 1 was going brazy, and the efficiency with which Rodgers was converting 3rd downs combined with Kenneth Walker’s fuckery had coach Sanders XV on the edge of the bridge.
HB Christian McCaffery (18 ATT, 112 YDS, 3 TD)
Truly didn’t have that great of a game through the first three quarters, but McCaffery was able to seal the game with two straight long TD runs as the 4th quarter came to a close. With my user sitting on the stretch, Jesse did a great job of mixing up his playcalls in the run game and brought out some looks that I normally don’t associate with him.
CB Alontae Taylor (3 T-A, 1 INT, 1 FF)
Of the three fumbles Walker had, the one that Taylor forced was by far the most impactful. I was up 24-20 and driving late in the 3rd quarter, feeling good about my offense and about to reach the redzone, when Taylor reached around Walker and stripped him right after a broken hit-stick attempt, laid on Walker so he couldn’t get up, and a fellow Steeler recovered the fumble and took it to the house. My best position in the entire game turned into the single most impactful play of the game going the other way, and the Steelers were off to the races from that point on.
Truthfully I feel like I’m playing quite well in the passing game right now, but through a combination of crackhead decision-making, impatient defensive usering and a sprinkle of EA I find myself at 0-2 with a must-win rematch against Baltimore coming down the pipe. If we can’t take down Mahomes and co. this time around, the season may be over just as it was getting started.