Thursday night marked the second game in a row the Pittsburgh Steelers lost at home to a team that was at least eight games under .500. A remarkable feat in all the worst ways for a team in a spiral. The Steelers are now 7-6 and out of the playoff picture and there are no answers on the horizon. Here are our takeaways from the loss to the New England Patriots.
It might be time for a new message
It really doesn’t feel like this current group of players is getting the message head coach Mike Tomlin is giving them. There’s no doubt Tomlin is a great coach but it really feels like the players just aren’t buying in at this point. All of the Tomlin-isms in the world aren’t going to rally this roster.
Mitch was bad but what did you expect?
It didn’t take long for the fans at Acrisure Stadium to begin the chants for Mason Rudolph to replace Mitch Trubisky. As if putting Rudolph into the starting lineup was going to save this team. Everyone had to assume the quarterback play would be poor and it was incumbent on the rest of the team to pick it up. They did not.
Too little, too late on defense
The Steelers defense came out of the gate and decided they would make Bailey Zappe look like Tom Brady and give up a quick 21 points. The same Patriots offense that was shut out the week before. Everyone wants to talk up the great Steelers defense but they are no more consistent than he offense and defensive coordinator Teryl Austin needs to be held accountable.
The season is over
These last two weeks have been a wake-up call for fans far more than the team it seems. This isn’t a playoff-caliber team and the team we saw at 6-3 at one point in the season was a mirage. Tomlin’s streak of non-losing seasons is in serious jeopardy at this point and rightfully so.
