3 Takeaways from Bengals' Week 15 Win

The Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers wrapped Week 15 with an AFC North showdown on Monday Night Football. While a matchup between the 11-2 Steelers and 2-10-1 Bengals seemed lopsided on paper, it went the other way in real life.

If not for the New York Jets getting their first win of the season on Sunday, this might have been viewed as the upset of the year.

The Bengals dominated the game from the onset, keeping Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger uncomfortable and doing enough offensively to build a 17-point first-half lead. While the Steelers mounted a comeback in the second half, they couldn't avoid the mistakes that ultimately doomed them.

While the win didn't mean much for the Bengals in the short-term—they've long since been eliminated from the postseason—it's a great momentum-builder for the future. Here are three things we learned from Cincinnati's Week 15 win.

Zac Taylor may ultimately not be the right head coach for the Bengals. He still has just three wins on the season, and his decision to rely so heavily on the passing game may be partially responsible for Joe Burrow's season-ending knee injury.

However, the Bengals showed on Monday that they aren't going to quit on their head coach. Taylor had his team prepared and executing like it was the playoff-bound squad on the field. Despite his team's struggles, Taylor has remained a motivating factor this season.

"No matter what the outcomes of our games have been, he's always been there to be that support, to be that optimistic voice that we need during times of uncertainty and during times of defeat we've had to go through," defensive tackle Christian Covington said, per ESPN's Ben Baby.

It'll be interesting to see if Taylor's team is able to again play spoiler against the Baltimore Ravens in two weeks for the finale.

While Ryan Finley has no shot at unseating Burrow as Cincinnati's long-term starter, he showed on Monday that he is capable of winning NFL games. That's significant because it means that the Bengals may have themselves a franchise backup—and a good one at that.

Cincinnati got a look at Finley last season, as the then-rookie started three games in place of Andy Dalton. He completed just over 47 percent of his passes in those games and never appeared confident against NFL competition.

In other spot appearances this season, Finley showcased more of the same tentative play, which may be why Cincinnati went with Brandon Allen as the starter after Burrow went down. Against the Steelers, though, Finley looked like he belonged under center. He completed 7 of 13 passes for just 89 yards and a touchdown, but he protected the ball and racked up 47 yards and another score on the ground.

This game was largely won by Cincinnati's defense and some hard running from Giovani Bernard. Make no mistake, though, the Bengals don't pull off the upset without Finley. He's likely to be a tremendous fallback option for the Bengals moving forward.

Presumably, Burrow will be back and healthy for the 2021 season and will be the centerpiece of the Bengals franchise. With him at the helm, the Bengals offense can be formidable. However, if Cincinnati wants to be a championship contender, it will need to be more than just an offensive powerhouse.

Fortunately, Cincinnati showed on Monday night that it has a few building blocks on the defensive side of the ball too. A unit that was atrocious a year ago—it ranked 29th in total defense and 25th in points allowed—is now playing more like a middle-of-the-pack unit.

Cincinnati's defense looked like a powerhouse against the Steelers too. While it's perfectly fair to blame Roethlisberger and the Steelers for botching the game, it was Bengals defenders like Mackensie Alexander, Mike Daniels and Jesse Bates III who took advantage.

The Steelers were limited to just 244 yards of offense and were forced into three turnovers. They never truly seemed to find a rhythm, and the Bengals held them down in the end.

The 2020 Bengals are far from perfect defensively—they rank 22nd in total defense and 19th in points allowed—but they're improving. While small steps may not seem all that important, they're vital to a franchise's long-term growth. Cincinnati has something to build on heading into 2021, on both sides of the ball.