There’s no longer a distinction between a solid defense and a woeful offense for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Everything’s falling apart at an alarming rate, with Ben Roethlisberger unable to avoid turnovers and any kind of hope of turning this around keeps slipping out the window, although the AFC North refuses to run away from them.
Yes, the only thing keeping the Steelers with some hope and faith that this can be turned around is the fact that the three other teams in the division have a 2-2 record, while their offense, scoring over 20 points for a second consecutive week, is making noises of some sort of comeback. However, no part of this team is good enough to win games without other parts pitching in too.
The Steelers got Le’Veon Bell to make his debut and score a touchdown; Ben Roethlisberger threw for over 380 yards in a desperate attempt to get back in the game. The Steelers were never close enough as Adrian Peterson, Matt Cassel and Greg Jennings were simply unstoppable, which they shouldn’t be.
But the defense is suddenly the focus of the criticism on the team, as it has still been unable to force a turnover in four games, while their inability to get to Matt Cassel despite a less than formidable offensive line is nothing new. They gave up two touchdowns for over 60 yards, and the thought on everyone’s mind at the moment is how low they’re going to continue to sink, and what do they pick first in the draft: A left tackle or a defensive playmaker which this defense clearly needs.
We are in uncharted territories and the water is dangerous right now, so we have to stick together and get out of it. Right now, you could say we’re the worst team in the league. That hurts. We came up short, but we played better than we have in recent weeks. We gave up explosive plays, you can’t do that. We’re going to focus on getting better, and that’s what’s going to change the outcome of football games.
Roethilsberger did get some yards to improve his numbers this season, but he can’t be happy with his performance, or be one of those thinking that this loss is all on the defense. He has now thrown five interceptions this season and fumbled the ball five more times, as the Steelers are third in the NFL with 11 turnovers so far. Being sacked five times, making it up to 15 this season (3rd in the NFL), is another example of just how exposed he is out there, especially with Mike Adams still doing a terrible job at left tackle.
Tomlin keeps talking about focus and getting better; fixing and improving. However, the issue here is the quality of his players. Roethlisberger is still a good quarterback, but a rather banged up one. The running game will look better with Bell, but without an offensive line to offer them some protection, and without a defense that can generate key stops or points, the few good things on this team won’t matter at the end of this disastrous season.