PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Steelers ended a bad weekend at Heinz Field with a 26-17 loss to the Raiders. A game the home team only led for a couple of minutes. Here are some of the Steelers players and coach’s big takeaways.
2 big areas
As Mike Tomlin mentioned in his opening statement after the loss, two areas that really hurt were, one, penalties. Steelers hit for five penalties for 43 yards, including a couple of unsportsmanlike flags against them.
“We hurt ourselves,” Tomlin said. “We didn’t play smart enough from a penalty standpoint. That can’t be a characteristic of our ball. Part of being a tough team to beat is not beating ourselves.”
Two, not having enough detail on possession downs.
“A lot of that had to do with that inability to make plays when attrition set in,” Tomlin said. “That’s the nature of this thing. Put that on me, we got to do a better job of planning and insulating our down-the-line guys. We got to get them ready to play better. It was obvious in those weighty moments, particularly in the second half. We didn’t play with enough detail. We didn’t adjust enough.”
“I’m not saying London Bridge is falling down,” said Steelers captain Cam Heyward. “But we need to grow from this. We need to keep harping on our mistakes, understand how big those plays are. Situation football is where the game is won.”
Injuries
Steelers went into the game without starting corner Joe Haden and linebacker Devin Bush. During the game lost All-Pro linebacker TJ Watt with a groin, defensive lineman Tyson Alualu with a broken ankle and receiver Diontae Johnson, on the final play, to a knee injury.
“Anytime you lose the best defensive player in the NFL,” linebacker Robert Spillane said of Watt. “There is going to be a drop off. There is nobody like TJ Watt.”
That’s not to underscore the importance of Alualu.
“Losing Ty was something we had to adjust too,” Heyward said. “It took me awhile to just settle down. He’s a heck of a player. I thought Tyson was destined for one of his best seasons. He’s the good cop to my bad cop. We are going to miss him on the field.”
“Injuries are a part of the game. It’s not anything we can run from. That’s what practice is for. Hopefully we have guys that are able to step up. I have to be harder on my guys. We need to make the plays. We were already down Tuitt to start with.”
“It will have to be a collective effort. It’s not one man to be Superman. It’s up to the group to pick up the slack.”
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Tomlin had no update on the stats of Watt, Johnson, Haden and Bush going forward. Alualu will be out an extended period-of-time.
Turner Ejected
Starting offensive guard Trai Turner kicked out of the game after the Najee Harris TD reception in the fourth quarter due to an unsportsmanlike conduct. Turner still was upset on the sidelines as the refs explained their decision to Tomlin.
“Somebody spit in his face,” Tomlin said bluntly. “I understand the 15-yard penalty. Trai is not a young guy. He’s not overly emotional. He’s a flatliner. For him to respond the way he responded. What transpired had to transpire. He didn’t do enough to get kicked out of the football game.”
“He said he got spit on,” said Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. “He didn’t like that which I understand and respect as a man. He went to try and say something to the man who spit on him.”
4th and 1
A five-yard completion to Pat Freiermuth left the Steelers with a fourth and one with 8:36 to play in the game on the Steelers 34 yard line. Down nine points, the Steelers decided to punt.
Roethlisberger said he didn’t have a chance to debate to go for it. Saying the punt team was already running on the field.
“You saw me,” Roethlisberger said. “I don’t have a choice.”
Tomlin said he wanted to play the field position game and confident the defense could stop them. Tomlin noted they did end up stopping them.
Carr impressive
While you can always look at it that the Steelers defense could have done more, the impact of injuries, Raiders QB Derek Carr owned the second half. The eight- year vet was 16 of 23 for 263 yards and a pair of touchdowns the last 30 minutes, 382 yards passing overall with no turnovers.
“He’s an experienced quarterback,” Tomlin said. “He’s been with Gruden for a number of years. It’s reasonable to expect those guys to gain footing as the game wears on and goes on.”
“I had to do better executing,” said safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. “I had to do better getting to the ball and playing.”
Lack of O consistency
Steelers had splash plays of a 55-yard reception to Chase Claypool and a 41-yard pass to Diontae Johnson, but finished with only 331 total yards. They managed only 55 plays and rushed for 39 yards.
Tomlin said they need to play faster and be able to adjust on their feet.
“We got to grow,” Tomlin said. “Win or lose we have to grow. We got too many young people, new people in significant roles. They got to grow in terms of understanding those roles. The details required to win. The skills relative to their positions to execute in those critical moments.”
Raiders best Ben again
Roethlisberger now has played the Raiders eight times in his career. He is 2-6 and the other five losses were to Raiders teams that would end up with a losing record.