Mike Tomlin didn’t mince words after the Steelers lost 29-10 to the Chiefs on Christmas Day. The loss was Pittsburgh’s third loss in 11 days and dropped the Steelers to 10-6 and second to the Ravens in the AFC North standings. It was Pittsburgh’s third straight loss by double digits.
Wednesday’s loss was a microcosm of the past two weeks for Pittsburgh. The defense looked overwhelmed (especially in pass defense), the offense made critical mistakes in key moments, and the team was unable to capitalize on Kansas City’s mistakes in all three phases.
“Quite frankly, it was terrible,” Tomlin said via the team’s website. “It’s not the type of ball we want to play and it’s eerily similar to our last performance in that we didn’t do the fundamentals enough. We’re turning the ball over, we’re getting turnovers. No. It wasn’t a recipe for us, minus-2 or whatever, we just didn’t give ourselves any chances in this game, especially turning the ball over in the red zone.”
Tomlin is right. The Steelers rarely beat themselves during their 10-3 start. But they’ve been doing that for the past three weeks, committing costly turnovers on offense in the fourth quarter of each game. The last two games included red-zone turnovers by Russell Wilson, who was settling in after winning six of his first seven starts in Pittsburgh.
Getting back to basics will be part of how Tomlin pivots. Additionally, changes are expected to be made between now and the time the Steelers host the Bengals in Week 18. Tomlin hinted at changes multiple times during Wednesday’s press conference.
“You can look at it from different angles,” Tomlin said of the team’s recent struggles. “The bottom line is that the junior varsity team is not good enough. We have to make it our own. But we also have to think about what needs to change. We are going to continue to do the same thing. No,” and expect a different result.
“That doesn’t seem clear to me. So we’re going to look into this seriously. We have a few more days before we come back to this issue. We’ll look into it and figure out what’s next. We’re going to do it.” We need to make the necessary changes to this whole thing because, again, that’s what it is and it’s not good. ”
What changes can Steelers fans expect? Tomlin is likely to make more general changes than personnel changes. That’s the reality at the end of the season.
Offensively, offensive coordinator Arthur Smith returns to Pittsburgh’s more ball-control approach that helped Pittsburgh get off to a 4-2 start when Justin Fields was under center. It is expected that there is a possibility. The Steelers ran for over 200 yards on Wednesday. They are more than capable of winning games that way without asking much from Wilson.
If there is a personnel change, there is a possibility that he will be moved to defense. They were one of the best units in the NFL up until that point, but that side of the ball has peeled back in recent weeks. Several defensive starting pitchers have issued harsh comments following losses in the past two games, including Wednesday.
“It’s got to be something you want to do,” linebacker Alex Highsmith told the Post-Gazette. “It’s not enough right now. We’re at a point in the year where we definitely have two games left. We’re going to see who wants it, you know what I mean? Everyone in this room. That’s the only way we can move forward and get better. ”
Fellow linebacker Patrick Queen said the unit’s most recent incident occurred Wednesday when rookie wideout Xavier Worthy had a marginal success on the first of Patrick Mahomes’ three touchdown passes. He gave an example of a struggle. The Steelers knew what was coming, but they still couldn’t stop it.
“We’ve been preaching that all week. We knew they were going to have one in the backfield,” he said. “We got a check for it. We got to the check, but we just weren’t doing our job. At the end of the day, it’s about doing your job.”
Looking at the play, it appears that defensive backs Minkah Fitzpatrick and DeShon Elliott were stuck between tight ends Noah Gray and Travis Kelce. Noah Gray and Travis Kelce ran inside routes in Queen’s direction and watched as Worthy got wide open down the field. Fitzpatrick eventually reached Worthy, but it was too late.
Queen said the force’s recent lack of execution was “inexplicable.” “It’s just happening. We keep talking about it, but no one is doing anything about it.”
Change is coming, but don’t expect change at quarterback despite Wilson’s recent struggles. Wilson has held pole position ahead of Fields since both quarterbacks arrived in Pittsburgh during the offseason, and will likely remain that way for the rest of the season.
That being said, Tomlin clearly doesn’t like what he’s seeing from the team, so that could lead to changes that no one but him expected.
