Sunday’s 24-17 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers should not be viewed as evidence that the Bengals are pretenders as opposed to contenders.

At least that’s the opinion of free safety Reggie Nelson, who had words for the non-believers.

“I don’t care what they say,” Nelson said. “As long as we stick together and continue playing hard-nosed football they can keep on talking. We’re still going to play hard whether they like it or not. There are no quitters in this locker room. The Steelers are a tough team, but I think our record still speaks for itself.”

Nelson played a solid game, combining for five tackles and one pass defensed. He had a near interception of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger but the ball was jarred loose by teammate Leon Hall. Nelson also prevented a potential touchdown by delivering a slobber-knocker blow to the chest of tight end Heath Miller short of the goal line.

“We’re not going to make it easy for anybody,” Nelson said. “We just have to stay together as a team and continue to play hard. Just because we had this little bump in the road doesn’t mean things have to fall apart. We made a few mistakes but have to limit those and keep playing our game.”

The 5-foot-11, 208-pound Nelson has been a welcome acquisition since being traded to the team last September from Jacksonville. He calls his time with Cincinnati “fresh air” after some disappointments with the Jaguars. The Bengals wanted to add a playmaking safety to their secondary and Nelson has provided that with his ball-hawking skills. He fits well into defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer attacking defense.

Nelson said Zimmer is doing an exceptional job with the defense and the players have bought into his philosophy.

The Bengals will be faced with another daunting task this week on the road against Baltimore. The team’s next three games are against opponents in their own division. Cincinnati’s secondary is faced with a difficult challenge trying to replace starting cornerback Leon Hall, who is out for the season with injury.

“Things aren’t going to get any easier over the next few weeks,” Nelson said. “We have some players down and other guys have to step up and fill those shoes. When your number is called you have to go out and perform. That’s what we get paid for.”

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