Steelers lose to Titans
If there’s one thing that I hate even more than a Steelers loss, it’s writing about a Steelers loss at 1:30 in the morning. So I’m going to make this brief.
The Steelers lost 26-23 in a game that is going to leave them feeling embarrassed once they watch it on film.
The Steelers played badly on both sides of the ball. In fact, they played badly in all 3 phases of the game.
On offense, they couldn’t run the ball effectively. They accumulated only 56 yards rushing against a team that had been giving up 144 yards per game on the ground. And injuries to the offensive line certainly didn’t help. At one point, it looked like Heath Miller was going to have to line up as an offensive lineman.
And the wide receivers didn’t help much either. Neither Mike Wallace nor Antonio Brown seemed like they were interested in catching the ball. Sure, Mike Wallace had an 82 yard touchdown reception. But outside of that, he and Antonio Brown caught only 6 of 14 passes that were thrown to them.
On defense, the Steelers couldn’t stop anything. Ike Taylor and Keenan Lewis looked more like Abbott and Costello. Is it just me, or is Ike Taylor getting beat on just about every play this season?
And the run defense wasn’t much better. They allowed Chris Johnson to break out of his slump, just like they let Darren McFadden break out of his when they played the Oakland Raiders. Players who are not having a good season shouldn’t suddenly find their groove against the Steelers.
And of course we have to mention special teams. A blocked punt? Really???!!!!
Heck, even the coaches can take some heat for this one. Was a 54 yard field goal the right call when a miss would give the Titans good field position with almost a full minute to march down the field? I’m sure that Mike Tomlin is now rethinking that decision.
The kick is good! Titans win.
The Steelers are now 0-3 on the road. More importantly, they’ve lost to teams that have a combined record of 2-10 when they aren’t playing the Steelers. So let’s not kid ourselves into thinking that they’ve lost to the Ravens or the Patriots. They’re losing to bad teams.
There’s still time for the Steelers to turn things around. But with 3 losses to AFC opponents, and two games left to play against both the Ravens and the Bengals, the playoffs are going to be hard to make. Frankly, I don’t even care about the playoffs. I’d just like to see the Steelers make it through the season without any more major injuries.
Go Steelers!
There is a lot of BAD things going on. But blowing leads in, what 4 out the 5 games, and @Admin said, to teams with loosing records, is shocking.
Any time this year, when they HAD to have a stop, it has not come. And that is what scares me.
1Jim,
2I am completely baffled when it comes to understanding what is wrong with the Steelers right now. The Raiders and Titans were as close to “guaranteed wins” as we’re likely to see. Yet we lost to both teams. The way things are going, we may get swept by Cleveland this year. Yikes!
This looks like the weakest edition of the Steelers ever led by Big Ben. Perhaps due to injuries, the running game has degenerated from poor to deplorable and the defense from solid but not spectacular last year to below average. Even putting aside injuries on defense, Ike Taylor routinely commits pass interference even when he is not clearly beat by his receiver, the line does not shut down the run or collapse the pocket, the linebacking corp has little depth and the new members of the secondary do not tackle at the level required from a Pittsburgh defender. Ben is still playing at the top of his game and has terrific receivers so they will win games and have their moments but there simply is not enough talent.
3We lost 2 OL and 2 RBs last night. That’s going to kill any running game. But I’m wondering: the Steelers have a ton of injuries every year, and not just to older players. Is there a strength and conditioning issue?
Also: The defense needs overhauled. The LBs have been playing well, but that’s it. Kiesel is doing it himself on the DL. Hampton is done. Get him out of there, start McClendon, and rotate in Ta’amu. Hood doesn’t do anything. I say put in Heyward.
I thought Keenan Lewis played decently last night, but the Titans receivers were beating themselves all game. Ike needs to realize that he’s not Charles Woodson and stop with these penalties. The Steelers are the most penalized team in the league, and most of it probably comes from him and Willie Colon. Ryan Clark is good, but aging. Troy is at the end of his career. We need more safety help, and more CBs, as Ike is quickly trying to go into early retirement.
Also: guess who missed that block during that blocked punt? RYAN MUNDY! AAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! WHY IS HE STILL HERE THERE HAS TO BE SOMEONE BETTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! RAAAAAAAAAGEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!
…ahem. Okay…I’m okay.
The OL surprisingly didn’t hold all game. Adams actually looked okay, save for a play or two. They just need to stay healthy.
Ben is carrying this team. He and the LBs are the only ones playing well. Fortunately, aside from the potential division winners, being the Pats, Ravens (uuuuughhhhh), Texans, and Chargers, most of the AFC is similarly crappy. So, the playoffs aren’t out of the question. However, do we want a one-and-done playoffs exit, or a higher draft pick to a team that needs it?
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