When you go three months without losing a single football game, it is much easier to look over mistakes or issues that may be going on. Your team is 11-0, what could possibly be the problem?
If you ask a Pittsburgh Steeler fan you may hear a 20-minute ramble. If you ask Mike Tomlin you will get honesty, respectfully.
The Steelers started out 11-0 and are now suffering from back-to-back losses. They now have just a 5% chance for a first round playoff bye (according to FiveThirtyEight). Pittsburgh is no team that feels as though they need a bye in order to play in Miami on February 7, 2021. They won the Super Bowl in 2006 with a Wild Card entry.
Let's dig a little deeper because this team is not the same team that has swept the Baltimore Ravens, beat the Houston Texans 28-21, beat the Tennessee Titans 27-24, and beat all other seven opponents.
During their first loss of the season to the Washington Football Team in Week 13, eight passes were dropped. That is the most a team has dropped for a quarterback in a game all season. Diontae Johnson is an elusive and explosive receiver, but everything is diminished if you are not catching the football. It became apparent that Eric Ebron and Chase Claypool were struggling as well when JuJu Smith-Schuster became the leading receiver for Sunday night's game ... with 55 yards.
Mike Tomlin, front-runner for NFL Coach of the Year, said that receivers "can catch the ball or they can get replaced by those who will catch it." I told you, honesty.
It does not help that the rushing game seems to be a little slack recently, too. Pittsburgh is averaging just 3.7 yards per rush attempt. Over the last seven games, the highest rushing game they had came against the Jacksonville Jaguars with 106 yards. Replacing the run game with quick passes is okay when ... your receiving core is consistently catching the ball and you have a healthy quarterback under the age of 35. Ben Roethlisberger has 141 pass attempts over the last three games. That is more than enough for a quarterback coming off of an elbow injury that required surgery.
Pittsburgh uses play-action fakes less than any other team in the league. To be slacking in physicality means that your team's deceptiveness should be a strength. This seems to be the core of their issue ... all of their previous strengths show glimpses of becoming a weakness. Yes, I said it. Yes, I am even referring to the defense. The defense slowing down is currently battling the uncontrollable bug of injuries. The inside linebacker position is the pivot to Pittsburgh's 3-4 scheme. It started with Devin Bush out for the season with an ACL injury. Robert Spillane comes in and is placed on injured reserve.
Three months without a loss and now at a loss for words.
Steeler Nation wants the good news, right? Yes, there is a bright side to all of this, fans. Pittsburgh has three more weeks in the regular season to begin to piece everything together, again. If you do know anything about this historic franchise and the coach that is Mike Tomlin, any time is enough time.
They do still have a future Hall of Famer at quarterback in Big Ben, Defensive Player of the Year candidate in TJ Watt, experience in the playoffs (and the Super Bowl), multiple Pro Bowl contenders on their entire roster ... and a Tik Tok phenom.
The Cleveland Browns are in playoff contention. Anything is possible, right?
Head up, Steeler fans. The season is far from over and still plenty of time to prepare for those Kansas City Chiefs for the AFC Championship.
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