The Steelers suffered through a myriad of miscues Sunday in their horrific 38-3 loss to the Bills. There was ineptitude on both sides of the ball, continuing a depressing season-long trend.
With that in mind, one bad route in the fourth quarter by Chase Claypool in the fourth quarter hardly constituted the most maddening aspect of the game. But it is indicative of a trend: Steelers receivers, despite their physical talents, have let their quarterbacks down this season.
Tony Romo called Claypool on it.
Midway through the fourth, Kenny Pickett fired a pass over the middle to the third-year wideout, but it was broken up by Bills corner Siran Neal, who was able to cut in front of Claypool and break up the play. And it was Claypool’s fault. Instead of cutting horizontally, he kept going vertically.
Take it from a QB.
“Now this is wide open, if you just cut down this line,” said Romo. “If you keep going vertical, you allow the defender to get back into the play. I think Claypool needs to do more of that, because he should. He’s got all of the physical attributes, but I just see him not being quarterback-friendly enough times where it hurts the play. That should’ve been an easy catch.”
Claypool’s bad route was the second time in two games in which one of the Steelers’ top receivers failed their QB. Last week, Diontae Johnson dropped a nice pass from Mitch Trubisky, leading to an interception.
On a positive note, Romo praised George Pickens, saying the second-round selection is soon going to be one of the best receivers in the NFL.
While Pickett was far from perfect — the rookie went 34-of-52 for 327 yards and a touchdown — Romo was impressed with what he saw.
“I love him. I think he’s going to be a great player,” said Romo. “He answered all of the questions about him today.”
Now, if only he could get some help from his pass-catchers.