After Week 1, it felt like we had a lot of answers regarding the Steelers. After Week 2, it seems like we have just as many questions, if not more.
The offense looked much more reminiscent of the unit we’ve seen over the last four years or so, and the vaunted defense broke down for a second straight week to open the year.
It was a discouraging performance from the Steelers in their only true performance at home until mid-October. Anyways, I have some thoughts, so let’s get into it.
1: This Defense Is, Uh, Bad
This defense, as a unit, got a ton of money in the offseason. Cam Heyward’s reworked deal. TJ Watt’s record-breaking, $123 million extension, which made him the highest-paid non-quarterback at the time. And it was not without controversy.
Heyward’s “hold in” got ugly and lost him some fan support, and not everyone was eager to see Watt and the Steelers ink such a lucrative extension. The Steelers, once again, have the highest paid defense in the NFL, and have very little to show for it.
Those two, being the main characters of this offseason, will face the brunt of the displeasure with this defense. And they aren’t without fault.
Heyward, whether fair to him or not, is the face of a defense that allowed nearly 400 total yards against them and 111 on the ground. Running back Kenneth Walker put up 105 yards on just 13 carries, imposing his well nearly whenever he wanted.
They could have run Walker a lot more than they did, but with Sam Darnold having plenty of time to operate, they didn’t need to. A decent chunk of that falls on Watt, who has not recorded a sack since Week 15 of last season. That’s six straight games without a game-breaking play like that.
At some point, we need to have a serious conversation about Watt. I don’t know if we’re quite there yet, but if we aren’t, we’re pretty darn close.
2: The Steelers Need A New Kick Returner
I was of the opinion that the Steelers needed to swap out Johnson with someone else in the kick return game even during the first half of this one.
He returned five kicks during Pittsburgh’s Week 1 win in New York, averaging 26.4 yards a return. Although most kicks are now required to be returned thanks to the new kickoff rules, Johnson couldn’t provide much of a spark whenever he took the ball out.
His longest return last week was 29 yards and he fumbled the ball in the first quarter, where his teammate Juan Thornhill bailed him out and recovered it.
His Week 2 performance wasn’t looking a lot better. And then, this happened…
That kickoff completely changed the game, and although this wound up being a 14-point loss for the Steelers, this was the play that cost them. Whatever the opposite of hawk-eyed is, Johnson was that on this play.
Kenneth Gainwell replaced Johnson on the next kickoff, returning it 20 yards. Johnson, after a nightmare like today, will absolutely know the rule going forward. But that part doesn’t really matter.
Johnson is not built for a kick returner role. He’s slower and not as agile, making it hard for him to sprint from near his end zone and get running downhill in a hurry.
Gainwell has plenty of kickoff return experience. He ran out 18 kickoffs for Philadelphia last season, where he averaged 25.3 yards per return. Put Gainwell there and hope that Johnson can forget about this blunder.
3: Aaron Rodgers Is Indeed 41
Aaron Rodgers is a 41-year-old quarterback. That’s just a fact.
Last week, he looked like vintage Rodgers, executing a four-touchdown day that saw him go 22-of-30 for 244 yards. His play made it seem like he was lying about his age.
This week, he looked like the old man quarterback that some Steelers fans feared would show up against the Jets. He was a mere 18-of-33 for 203 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
But he also didn’t get a lot of help.
The offensive line is performing like Justin Fields, or even Russell Wilson is still the quarterback behind them. They can’t protect the quarterback at all, and unlike last year, the guy who has the ball is incapable of running away from pressure.
Rodgers, post-Achilles and at his age, requires a solid offensive line to give him time and maybe more importantly, just keep him standing upright. Instead, he was sacked three times and spent all day running…well, jogging around.
The one time he rolled out and actually took off to run, he had a lane to reach the first down. But his slow speed allowed time for Seahawks defenders to converge on him and stop him before the sticks.
Last week, the pro-Rodgers side lauded his Superman-like performance in the Big Apple. This week, the anti-Rodgers side will be ripped for how discombobulated he looked. Both sides have their merit for each week.
It’s just important to not put too much stock into any one single game, especially by the QB Rodgers. We still need a larger sample size.
4: Calvin Austin’s Stock Goes Down
One of the biggest winners in Pittsburgh’s Week 1 performance was Calvin Austin.
Austin was officially denoted as WR2 on the depth chart to open the year, but he had not yet really earned the respect or recognition that comes with that role. In their first game, Austin hauled in four catches for 70 yards and a touchdown, including a very contested catch that the 5’ 9 receiver leaped up to grab.
It seemed like the start of a breakout season for Austin, and I thought it was unfair to him how much of the weekly chatter was about the Steelers being interested in Tyreek Hill.
After this week, it will make sense if that talk continues to heat up.
Austin only had one catch for 22 yards, and broke up a pass intended for his teammate, tight end Pat Freiermuth. The ball tipped in and out of his arms and into the hands of Derion Kendrick, who got the pick. Rodgers was visibly upset with Austin after the play and talked about it after the game as well.
Get ready for another week of WR2 talk. Austin had a big opportunity Sunday and he whiffed.
5: Roman Wilson…Does Exist?
Well, the moment we’ve been waiting over a year for finally happened! After taking only five offensive snaps in his rookie year and not getting a target in his season debut, Roman Wilson finally caught his first NFL pass.
That’s a moment he’ll never forget. Unfortunately, it is a moment that nearly every Steelers fan will. He caught a seven-yard pass on 3rd and 20, setting up a fourth and long.
It was an unimpressive moment in an unimpressive game, but it’s a box checked off for the offense. Now the question becomes whether he can get any more involved in the offense.
With the way the Steelers have handled Wilson so far, I don’t think that there should be any hope that he develops into a WR2, but it is imperative that the Steelers find some kind of value out of their third round pick from last year.
Fifth Avenue Sports 
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