It would have been difficult for the Pittsburgh Steelers to top the stellar performances they had put together in the last two weeks. Instead of trying to do that, the team silenced any talk about mounting a playoff run by playing a listless 60 minutes and losing 20-13 to the lowly New York Jets. A huge step back after three straight victories, the Steelers will need to prove they can win when they’re favored before analysts will buy into them as being playoff contenders.
Here’s a look at what we learned the loss.
Playing down to lesser competition
Dating back to when Bill Cowher still roamed the Pittsburgh sideline, the Steelers have historically had a serious problem with playing down to the level of their competition. It has sometimes determined the course of their season. This problem showed up once again in this game as the Steelers fell flat after three triumphant victories.
This team plays best when they aren’t supposed to win and are at their worst when they’re expected to triumph easily.
The defense was chewed up by Michael Vick and a struggling Jets offense. And the offense was pushed around by a New York defense that hadn’t put up much of a fight in recent contests.
Until the Steelers, as a team, make the conscious decision to do more than simply show up when they face a struggling team, they will continue to play close games when they should not and lose games that they should win.
Plenty of room for improvement
Win or lose, the Steelers still had issues to fix heading into this game. The defense was a work in progress coming in and the offense was still adapting to running less no-huddle.
With the game in the books, there’s still plenty to do before anyone can talk about the Steelers being a playoff team. The offensive line struggled for the first time in awhile with a pass rush that generated pressure throughout the game. Ben Roethlisberger spent the afternoon trying to stay upright. That’s not a recipe for success.
On defense, the absence of Troy Polamalu was noticeable and highlights the team’s questionable depth behind its aging veterans. At linebacker, the Steelers really need Ryan Shazier healthy before they can run the kind of pressure-heavy scheme that they’re accustomed to using to keep quarterbacks covered in grass stains.
It was not a good day for the Steelers, but is plenty of tape to look at to improve. If nothing else, perhaps this game is the lesson needed to convince the front office to start investing in the defensive backfield.
Defensive backs continue to struggle
The pass rush from Pittsburgh’s younger, faster front will mean little if the Steelers continue to ignore the need for cornerbacks and safeties that play sound defensive football. While this year represents an improvement in almost every department, today’s game showed just how little progress has been made.
Brice McCain and William Gay had an awful game on Sunday. Gay was burned early on the Jets’ longest touchdown pass this season. McCain is a fringe backup and, along with Antwon Blake, shouldn’t be playing as many snaps as he is now.
The Steelers have forced more turnovers this season, but not in the defensive backfield. Pittsburgh hasn’t selected a cornerback early in the draft since taking Chad Scott nearly two decades ago. It shows. There must be a concerted effort to fix the secondary in the offseason, or quarterbacks will continue to target the team’s most glaring weakness.
Back to Earth, Ben
After throwing 12 touchdowns in two games, Roethlisberger came back to Earth with a forgettable and listless game. Harassed all day behind a line that couldn’t block for him, the reigning AFC Offensive Player of the Week looked pedestrian.
Roethlisberger seemed to have trouble reading a Jets defense, with defenders that continued to move around until the ball was snapped in an effort to confuse him.
This game highlighted that the Steelers cannot win without their elite quarterback playing at the top of his game. With Roethlisberger struggling, the running game, receivers and defense all seemed to suffer a downgrade.
Antonio Brown’s forgettable day
For Antonio Brown, things couldn’t have been worse. He fumbled twice in the first half and didn’t look right from the get-go. His performance was symptomatic of a team that committed too many mistakes and never saw its playmakers rise to the occasion.
Brown is perhaps the only player besides Roethlisberger that is required for the success on offense. As talented as the team’s stable of receivers has seemed in the past three weeks, Brown is the player that opens things up for everyone else. He didn’t show up today, and the rest of the receivers struggled to find separation as a result.
