The Pittsburgh Steelers had a golden opportunity to go to 2-0 on Sunday against the New England Patriots but things didn’t go according to plan and the Steelers fell 17-14. Here are our big takeaways from the loss.
Matt Canada is not the answer
I’m not typically one to make huge, sweeping judgments about coaches during the season but offensive coordinator Matt Canada is not the answer. He is not scheming an offense to maximize the talent on the roster and there seems to be no urgency to change that.
The defense is too dependent on T.J. Watt
I think everyone knew the pass rush wouldn’t be quite as effective without T.J. Watt on the field. But the Steelers pass rush completely disappeared on Sunday. Despite having guys like Cam Heyward and Alex Highsmith on the field, the Steelers defense didn’t sack Mac Jones once.
Might be time to start the rookie
The talk is going to be all about how poorly Mitch Trubisky played and if it is time to make the switch to rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett. We will dig into the pros and cons of the move now but it seems pretty clear Trubisky isn’t the answer.
Najee Harris can't get small
Watching Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson run really brings to light a shortcoming in Najee Harris’ game. Stevenson is a big back like Harris. Nearly identical height and weight. But Stevenson has a skill where he can make himself small and find seams to run through. Harris hasn’t learned how to do this yet and it limits his big-play opportunities.
