PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – In his first start with the Steelers, the numbers were pedestrian at best. Mitch Trubisky finished with just 194 yards passing completing 21 of 38 throws for barely over a five-yard average. The offense converted only four of 15 third down attempts. He did throw a touchdown, but the biggest number with Trubisky-ZERO turnovers.
“It can be a lot better,” Trubisky said. “I need to find more completions, connect down the field and get the ball out. I can be smarter with how I use my legs and pick up more yards. It has to be better on third downs for sure. That’s the money down for the quarterback, and you have to stay on the field. It gives the defense a break. We need to find more ways to score points, and I can do better in that aspect.”
All of those are true and need work. Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin would only say this.
“It was enough,” Tomlin said. “We are 1-0, just like special teams and defense. We win together, we lose together.
I’ll comb through it from an analysis standpoint on Tuesdays like I always do.”
There were several points left on the field, Trubisky missed a couple of throws. The team rushed for just 3.4 yards a carry and often there wasn’t time to wait for a receiver to get open.
Trubisky acknowledged they need to turn turnovers into touchdowns, which he did only one time on a nice play design and throw to Najee Harris. But, in the absolute last opportunity of the game, his first game back as a starting quarterback, Trubisky did step up and make a few plays to get Chris Boswell into range for the game-winning field goal.
“We were playing to win,” Trubisky said. “We had another chance and we wanted to make the most of it. We wanted to be smart and take care of the football but also try to win. We didn’t want it to end in a tie but I wasn’t thinking about it. It all started with that big chunk play to Pat on the scramble.”
It’s third down with 34 seconds left in overtime with the Steelers at their own 29-yard line. An incompletion could give Cincinnati one last shot at a victory. Instead, Trubisky used his feet, creating time and found tight end Pat Freiermuth deep over the middle for a 26-yard gain to the Bengals 45-yard line.
“I knew it was Cover Zero, and I knew I was going to have inside leverage,” Trubisky said. “Mitch threw a hell of a ball, I made the play.”
A flag dropped as Cincinnati had jumped offside during the play.
“I tried to scramble around and make a play,” Trubisky said. “I didn’t see the flag on the ground, but I had a good idea it would be a free play. I found Pat in the middle, and he made a heck of a play not quitting on it. It was a heads-up play by everyone.”
Trubisky found Freiermuth again for 10 yards to make it a more manageable attempt for Boswell. He threw for nearly a quarter of his game total on that final game-winning drive.
“Who wanted it more, we obviously did,” said receiver Diontae Johnson. “The game wasn’t pretty, but we came out with the ‘W’. Mitch was in the huddle, I told him to take control and lead us down there and he did that. And we made plays for him.”
“We battled,” Trubisky said. “We made the plays when we needed to. The defense absolutely balled today with those turnovers. We just have to go back to the drawing board and do our part. We win and lose as a team together and today we found a way to win.”
“There were a lot of missed opportunities. When you take care of that last one and put your team in a position to win, it feels good. There’s definitely a lot to get better from, though.”
“We have to keep on improving,” said offensive lineman James Daniels. “The good news is we don’t have to worry about peaking in September. Just keep on improving every week. Looking every day at what you need to get done.”