A lot of people outed themselves as drug users when they picked the Pittsburgh Steelers to beat the Kansas City Chiefs. Whatever they were on, I need some desperately after whatever I just watched on Christmas Day.
I’m only half kidding, because while I did not think the Steelers had high chances of winning this game, I did think the end result would be respectable.
Instead, what we got was a 29-10 blowout that saw Kansas City play hard all game long, and the Steelers do that for maybe a quarter.
I said after last week not to overreact, and I stand by that comment at the time. However, after how the team looked today, some more pronounced reactions are in order.
1: Why Is This Team Not Prepared?
The Steelers opened this game with the ball, which is never a good thing for a team that notoriously starts slow.
They didn’t buck that trend during the holiday season, punting on a three-and-out. That drive ended with a double digit loss on a sack, the first of many on the day for a Chiefs team that was without Chris Jones, believe it or not.
For the third straight game, this team was flat out unprepared to play. If this was a one-off, I’d give them a mulligan. On Christmas, on only three days rest, third game in 11 days, all the same stuff we’ve said before.
But during this losing streak, the Steelers haven’t been prepared to play once. Slow starts, abysmal offense, and a defense that can’t keep up puts them behind the eight ball early on, and they can’t come back.
Kansas City hung 13 points on them before the Steelers even showed up to the stadium, and even after the Steelers momentarily stopped the onslaught, they still were an ill-prepared football team.
Nothing was more fitting than the game ending on a ten second runoff after a false start.
Unacceptable.
2: Russell Wilson…
I can hear the calls for Justin Fields faintly in the distance. I can hear the “he’s not the guy” retorts from afar.
Russell Wilson was not the problem the Steelers in this game, but he was definitely one of them.
His last three games have been brutal, and he has understandably escaped some criticism as his top weapon on offense, George Pickens, was out of the lineup.
Pickens was back this week, and Wilson went 23/37 for 205 yards and a pick.
His decision making is rapidly getting worse. He’s either forcing the ball in places where it can’t go or is having serious trouble reading the defense.
I mean seriously, what is going on here?
That pick was an underrated back breaker for the Steelers. Even though it was only the first quarter, it killed any momentum that the Steelers had created and delayed their efforts to get any points on the board.
His pocket presence is also quickly deteriorating. While he is somewhat at the mercy of a shaky offensive line, Wilson has to get rid of the ball quicker. His reluctance to throw is putting himself in danger, and against the Chiefs, they will make him pay.
3: Losing Vs Getting Embarrassed
There is a big difference between losing against a really, really great team, and getting embarrassed at home. I feel bad for the fans and employees who went to Acrisure Stadium with such high hopes.
The Chiefs undoubtedly had more to play for. One more win was all they needed to clinch the top seed in the AFC and secure a nice long break before having to gear up for playoff action.
But the Steelers also had plenty to play for. After their loss in Baltimore last week let the Ravens stay alive in the AFC North divisional race, the Steelers had a lot to gain with a win on Christmas.
First, from an optics standpoint, it would have showed the NFL that even though they stumbled in Philadelphia and Baltimore, they were able to go toe-to-toe with the best in the league. It also would have stopped the both internal and external spiral that the team is now in, having lost three straight December football games.
More importantly, however, it would have massively helped them in the AFC North race. A win would have kept them in control of their own destiny and ahead of the Ravens, setting up a Week 18 matchup against Cincinnati that could have won them the division.
To have those kind of playoff stakes and implications, and to come out that flat, is just embarrassing. The Steelers looked like a 5-10 team who had nothing to play for and nothing to show.
4: This Is Not A Great Defense
This is a snippet of my Five Thoughts post after Week 4, when the Steelers went into Indianapolis and lost. It was their first loss of the year, and a humbling game for a Steelers defense that was getting praised as the best in the NFL.
The best defense in the NFL doesn’t allow 27 points to the Colts. It also doesn’t allow a game-winning, 90+ yard drive to lose the game against Dallas the next week, which prompted another spot in that week’s post.
The defense came under fire after a 3-0 start had came to a startling halt.
A lot of the problems that the defense started to exhibit back then are still happening now. Guys are wide open on every single play, and whoever gets there first can’t tackle.
The defense has long shouldered the burden for any winning football in this town for..well…years. So while it is understandable that after so much time at the forefront a big step back was possible, that doesn’t mean we can’t or shouldn’t acknowledge it as a reality.
We’re stuck thinking of the name value of the Steeler Defense and ignoring what we are actually seeing with our eyes.
The splash plays aren’t coming nearly as much and the coverage is soft and lackadaisical. They just look very human, which is not something we’re used to seeing.
5: Need A New Return Man
When the Steelers first signed Cordarrelle Patterson, I was pretty excited. The signing was a response to the new kickoff rules that were being implemented by the NFL, ones that were designed to increase the amount of kickoffs returned.
Patterson over his career has been noted as one of the premier kickoff returners in the history of the NFL. He led the NFL in 2019 and 2020 in total return yards when he was with the Chicago Bears, and led the NFL in yards per return three of the four years he played for the Minnesota Vikings.
Patterson had nine return touchdowns in his career, six of which 100+ yards in length, the most in NFL history.
Aside from offensive coordinator Arthur Smith (who was Patterson’s head coach in Atlanta) trying to pigeonhole him into the offense, Patterson’s main role as the kick return man has not panned out.
He is not the returner he once was, and today was another example of that. He averaged just 20.5 yards a return during his two returns in this game, helping to contribute to the lopsided field position for the Steelers.
Coming into this game, he was averaging only 22.1 yards a return, nearly eight full yards back of the new touchback spot on the 30-yard line. It’s the second lowest return yardage of his illustrious career.
The man alongside Patterson on return duties, Jaylen Warren, is averaging 24.3 yards per return. While that number is certainly not excellent, it’s better than Patterson, who is clearly struggling in that role.
(Featured photo by Gene J. Puskar/AP)
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