Sunday’s loss is burned into our brains for so many reasons.

An all out embarrassment at home in Week 1 leaves the Steelers in a rather uncertain state. There was so much hype, from all sides, about this Steelers team and in particular, this Steelers offense. Now, Pittsburgh is in shambles.

Kenny Pickett looked god awful. The offensive line was terrible (I don’t care what Mike Tomlin says). The defense couldn’t stop anyone. And the punter shanks 30 yarders.

Disaster after disaster in that game has descended this city into chaos.

And that’s what makes Pittsburgh’s upcoming game the most important Week 2 they’ve had in years. A division rival, at home, after getting pummeled the previous week.

How do the Steelers respond?

The Cleveland Browns made easy work of the Cincinnati Bengals during their Week 1 matchup. The Browns absolutely shut down Joe Burrow on their way to a 24-3 win, one that has left the Bengals with some questions (probably not as many as the Steelers though) after Burrow had the worst game of his NFL career.

Cleveland is no easy game for the Steelers, but they do provide a great opportunity to right the ship.

Few better chances come along to quell a team’s fears than a divisional rival who just made Joe Burrow cower at their will. The Steelers desperately need to prove that Week 1 was a fluke, and that whatever we can call what happened on the field is in no way a precursor of the kind of season we’re all in for.

But, they’ll have to do it without multiple starters. Defensive leader Cam Heyward is gone, for two months at least. Top wideout and ultimate route runner Diontae Johnson, also gone, for a few weeks it’s looking like.

Several other players are still on the injury list. It’s going to be a challenge, but it will make a win all the more convincing.

The Steelers do have depth. It’s something that they worked on improving in the offseason. Several names on the defensive end will now get a chance to step up and show what they can bring. And on the offense, their wide receivers room does look thin, but they still have George Pickens, Allen Robinson, and Calvin Austin.

All three should see a bump in targets and looks, but particularly Robinson and Austin.

Late in Sunday’s game, Pickett seemed relatively comfortable throwing to both those guys in garbage time, and with no Johnson to target now, Pickett is going to have no choice but to look for Robinson and Austin more.

George Pickens is the obvious guy to see a lot of Johnson’s work. If the Steelers were smart, that’s target him 15 times in this game.

But with the way offensive coordinator Matt Canada’s offense used him during Week 1, I honestly have little faith much will change in the deployment of Pickens.

I hope to god I’m wrong, I really do, but I think the Steelers are going to revert back to that small ball style of play against the Browns, one that better suits Robinson and Allen.

Pickett is going to have a lot to prove on Monday night. After one of the worst games of his career on Sunday, his doubters are already jumping on him, and his supporters are starting to question if they’ve bet on the wrong guy.

Everyone has bad games, but the good quarterbacks don’t make a habit out of it.

I’ve heard some people say that if Pickett keeps playing poorly by Weeks 3 or 4, then it’s time to panic, but if he looks as intimidated and scared as he did in the opener, that panic might be setting in much sooner.

And there would be good reason for that. One of Pickett’s most prasied attributes was his poise, his maturity, and his ability to be a game manager. He didn’t manage a thing on Sunday.

As for the defense, they are going to shore up a lot of things for Monday. Their run defense was anything but, and that 70+ yard run they gave up to Christian McCaffrey effectively killed the game.

Nick Chubb of the Browns poses a similar, of not bigger threat on the ground. He recorded over 100 yards on the run in last week’s win against the Bengals, and ran with authority against the Steelers last season.

TJ Watt was maybe the only good defensive player on the field last week, and he always seems to have big games against the Browns. Watt and the gang need to put pressure on the Browns early, and in particular, sit DeShaun Watson down early. A few early sacks would go a long way in this game.

Patrick Peterson made a few plays on Sunday, but he found himself on the wrong end of one far more often. You’d hope he can mount a comeback game against Cleveland. The same goes for Levi Wallace.

It should also be time for some more Joey Porter Jr. in Week 2, which I think many fans would cheer on. But it seems as though the Steelers are set with maintaining the status quo for now.

And speaking of rookies who the fans want to see, Broderick Jones should see some more snaps as well. The Steelers traded up to get this guy, you need to start playing him. Whether he wants to or not, head coach Mike Tomlin might not have a choice, given that Chuks Okorafor is still on the injury list with a concussion, and James Daniels is questionable as well.

The offensive line, in addition to other flaws, needs to do a better job of opening up run lanes, especially if Pickett doesn’t fully rebound on Monday. The Steelers have two more than capable backs in Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren, and they are going to need to match the kind of run game that Chubb and the Browns are going to surely put together.

If there was ever a chance at redemption, it’s now. And I know that sounds crazy for a team heading into Week 2.

That’s how bad Sunday was.