Behind the Steel Curtain
If last week was one of the most frustrating losses in recent memory for the Pittsburgh Steelers, this week was one of the more infuriating wins.
The Steelers defeated the New England Patriots 21-14, improving to 2-1 on the season. If you looked at the raw box score, you would have thought the Patriots won by a landslide. New England outgained the Steelers 369-203 offensively, and the Patriots converted four of their five fourth-down attempts. However, five Steelers takeaways and a last-minute fourth-down stop by Brandin Echols allowed the Steelers to get their first win in New England in 17 years.
Early on, it looked as if the Steelers would run away with the game, as they scored touchdowns on their first two drives to go up 14-0. The first of two Rhamondre Stevenson fumbles set the Steelers up in plus territory, which led to Aaron Rodgers throwing his 509th career touchdown pass to DK Metcalf. After that, though, the Steelers looked dormant.
For the rest of the first half, the Steelers held the ball for just 1:41 while the Patriots had possession for 12:01, including a 17-play, 92-yard drive in which Brandin Echols bailed the defense out with an interception in the red zone. That was the first in a series of three consecutive drives that ended in turnovers for the Patriots – the Steelers totaled one yard in the three drives following those takeaways. Pittsburgh had a stretch of four consecutive drives ending in three-and-outs (excluding a one-play kneel down ahead of halftime), and the stale offense looked as poor as ever. It’s hard to even blame Arthur Smith when the same issues occurred with Matt Canada and Randy Fichtner. Short passes, not testing the defense downfield, predictable play-calls on first and second down, putting them behind the sticks. It’s clear that Mike Tomlin’s fingerprints are impacting the offense, as well as the passive defense that, despite having five takeaways, played poorly throughout the game.
That’s the biggest problem with how Tomlin approaches winning. Bend don’t break, while relying on splash plays and playing timid offensively is a strategy that can beat mediocre teams – it certainly won’t work when they play teams like the Buffalo Bills or the upper echelon teams in the league. You won’t get two red zone turnovers every week, and you certainly won’t get five takeaways every week. The defense should certainly be applauded for those turnovers, but they should be equally criticized for their continued horrid play on third down, and the predictable offense is going to cost them games. A win is a win, and it’s much better to be annoyed after a win, but the same issues with the Steelers that have been there for going on four seasons now are a problem, and it falls on the guy under the headset.
And yet, despite shooting themselves in the foot and seemingly being scared to throw past the sticks, Aaron Rodgers threw an absolute seed to Calvin Austin on a...
