That was embarrassing.
Completely, utterly, bitterly, embarrassing.
In a game the Steelers desperately needed to win, the visiting Buffalo Bills came in and completely dog-walked the Steelers en route to a 26-7 win. Josh Allen and the Bills each made history during their domination of the Steelers, and
Now at 6-6, their playoff hopes are on life support, and with each passing day, it feels Mike Tomlin’s non-losing seasons streak is about to come to an end.
This feels like a game that finally broke this fanbase. There’s an overwhelming amount of angst and anger coming out of Pittsburgh right now. This game as a huge reason why. Here’s some thoughts on the loss.
1: “Too Easy”
Mike Tomlin was right at the beginning of the season when he said his defense was capable of “historic things.” It’s just a shame we had no idea what kind of history we were in for.
Buffalo had a complete field day in the running game. The Bills finished the day with 249 rushing yards. That was the most rushing yards by an opponent in Acrisure Stadium history.
But wait, there’s more! Buffalo’s rushing total spanned far more than just the 24-year history of Acrisure. They had the highest amount of rushing yards since 1975, when ironically it was the Bills who racked up 310 on the vaunted Steel Curtain.
Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady ran the same play time after time, and the Steelers never figured it out. It felt like no matter who the running back was for the Bills, they had a wide open late every single time he took the field. James Cook averaged five yards a carry. Ray Davis averaged eight. Tony Romo called it “too easy” on the CBS broadcast.
And it still gets worse. Though Cook had the bulk of the rush yards, with 139 on 28 carries, Allen tacked on 38 yards and a rushing touchdown himself, to set the record for most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in NFL history.
Anything the Bills wanted to do on offense, they did with ease.
2: Quarterback Quandries
Make no mistake, no facet of this Pittsburgh team was good yesterday. But it was the mistakes of both Steeler quarterbacks that completely flipped this game.
On the first play of the second half, Buffalo brought the pressure, forcing Rodgers to try and escape in a rapidly collapsing pocket. Joey Bosa came charging in and strip sacked Rodgers, who held onto the ball for too long. The fumble was recovered by Christian Benford and ran into the endzone for a scoop-and-score touchdown.
Just like that, Buffalo had the lead.
Rodgers, who was driven in the ground face-first, had a cut on his face that needed cleaned up and repaired. I can’t imagine that him landing directly on his already-injured left wrist felt good, either.
In his absence on the next drive, backup Mason Rudolph came into the game. On just the fourth play of the drive and second pass attempt by Rudolph, he sailed it over the head of Darnell Washington and into the hands of Benford for an interception.
Josh Allen and the Bills tacked on an extra six from that turnover (the extra point kick was no good), and in a matter of five minutes, the Bills now have a two-score lead.
These were the errors that changed the entire game. Yes, Pittsburgh’s defense wasn’t fairing all too well, but they had managed to hold the Bills to three points in the first 30 minutes. Getting the ball to start the second off, Pittsburgh’s offense had an opportunity to put themselves ahead by two scores, or at least tack on a field goal.
The old saying goes “give them an inch, and they’ll take a mile.” The Bills didn’t have to reach out for that mile, the Steelers handed it all to them.
3: No Tackles, No Problem
Buffalo’s offensive line was badly injured going into this game. The Bills walked into Pittsburgh withou both of their starting tackles, Dion Dawkins and Spencer Brown.
You couldn’t ask for a better opportunity for a pass rush that features TJ Watt, Alex Highsmith, and Nick Herbig. This should have been an ample opportunity to pressure Allen and either sack him or force him to scramble and make mistakes. Allen was coming off a loss in Houston that saw him sacked a career-high eight times.
It also should have meant that the Steelers had a better chance to limit Buffalo’s rushing attack, meeting Cook or Davis in the backfield before they could break out.
None of that happened. Against multiple backups, the Steelers combined for four tackles for loss and one quarterback pressure.
The best they could do was stand there and wait for the backups to take the occasional false start. The very few times any defender did get their hands on Allen behind the line, he was able to shimmy right out of it.
It was just an unacceptable performance from those guys.
4: Unsportsmanlike Conduct
DK Metcalf took a dumb unsportsmanlike conduct during Pittsburgh’s lone touchdown of the game. He made what I’m sure the NFL will label an “obscene gesture” to a defender in the endzone as the Steelers were celebrating. As a result, Chris Boswell
Cam Heyward took one as well, jawing with Allen after the quarterback had just thrown a touchdown pass to Keon Coleman, putting this game farther out of reach. Objectively, that has to be the funniest/worst possible time to be called for a taunting penalty.
Heyward and Allen had been going back and forth almost all game. On this penalty, he got right in Allen’s face and butted his helmet against Allen’. It’s rare you see Heyward being as verbal with the opponent as he was today, but it cost him with a flag.
Look, I get it. It’s a chippy game, frustration is boiling over, and you’re trying to get a spark going. Honestly, I appreciate the fight, it’s something I wish the Steelers showed a little more often.
But there’s a line between bringing some intensity and making stupid mistakes. Were these penalties super costly in the grand scheme of things? No, the team overall was bad enough to essentially negate them. But these penalties were simply undisciplined and unnecessary, and a byproduct of a struggling team who can’t get it together.
5: They Booed Renegade
I can’t recall ever seeing this before.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Steelers showed their first signs of life since in about a quarter and a half. They had marched over 50 yards down the field, and Rodgers found some success in the hurry-up offense. But, the drive stalled in the redzone.
Needing 16 points, the Steelers really had no choice but to go for it. But a poorly designed run for Kenneth Gainwell saw them lose a yard and turn the ball over on downs.
During the tv timeout, the stadium played Renegade, the song most synonymous with the Steelers. A fed-up crowd booed it. Loudly.
Think about what that song means to the franchise. You might think that the tradition is outdated and overused, but that doesn’t change the history and legend that the 1979 Styx song has in this town. This team is in some serious trouble.
Chants of “Fire Tomlin,” also roared from the crowd in this game. It’s easy to get on the bad side of a passionate home crowd in Pittsburgh, but this is a whole new level.
Is this rock bottom for the Steelers?
Fifth Avenue Sports 
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