PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – The Steelers wouldn’t say it because they are programmed to not make excuses, but playing three NFL games in 12 days has taken a toll on this team. It’s one of a number of reasons the team has lost two straight.
Fatigue is a real thing at this level. It started with a physical Ravens game (yes, backups can be physical, maybe just not as skilled as starters), only to be followed just a handful of days later against likely the best defensive line in football. Then turning back around on another short week, traveling day of the game due to COVID, which most players haven’t done since high school, and playing at an AFC Super Bowl contender or at least an AFC Championship game contender.
Think of how much fresher Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers would have looked if they had the late bye week that Tampa Bay had.
It’s not just the veterans feeling the aches and pains, but rookies haven’t ever had a season of this length, maybe why we‘ve seen five catches from Chase Claypool over the last few weeks for 53 yards.
Run game
Players and coaches weren’t vocal about the run game until recently, one because they were winning and two because they aren’t going to single out a specific player or group of players. After the Buffalo game, as much as Ben Roethlisberger will ‘point the thumb’ and he did take blame, they need something on the ground.
“Defenses can play fast if you can’t run the ball,” Roethlisberger said. “We need to do better at being a more balanced offense. We need to do better at executing the plays that are called.”
That means all of them and for as bad as Roethlisberger looked at times recently, the lack of a run game severely hampers what the offense can do. Only Houston runs it worse than the Steelers, and they have a better per carry average (3.9 to 3.7).
Here are the rush totals for the last seven games-48, 46, 44, 106 (vs Jacksonville), 68, 21, 47 yards.
How do you keep a team honest when they don’t have to worry about play-action? The quarterback has to be perfect, Roethlisberger has not been. Before we push him aside and look for the next offensive leader, not even Patrick Mahomes can do it alone.
Mahomes has the best tight end in football in Travis Kelce and the best big play threat in Tyreek Hill, even though Hill will drop a few. They also have a running back with 724 yards on the season and no lineman with more than eight years of wear and tear.
Buffalo last night, no one has caught more passes than Stefon Diggs, Cole Beasley is a sure-handed second receiver and running back Devin Singletary is a threat to catch the ball and while not great, the Bills rush for at least four yards a carry.
Steelers have sure-handed JuJu Smith-Schuster, arguably the toughest receiver in the game right now. But who provides their big play threat? Diontae Johnson did for a while, but he’s having issues with drops. Same with Eric Ebron. Roethlisberger missed an open James Washington in the fourth quarter, but considering the inconsistencies from that group, it’s not just on Ben.
Injuries mount
Roethlisberger was not sacked, but he was hurried a few times and the offensive line, already without their best run-blocking tackle for the season, was without its top two left guards. Matt Feiler and then promising rookie Kevin Dotson, each suffered pectoral injuries as the offense attempted a comeback with a third-stringer.
Defensively, you wonder how much can they continue with ‘next man up’ when you’ve lost one of the best pass rushers in the NFL, a promising, quick, first round pick middle linebacker along with two other starters at that position. Plus played Sunday without corner, leader, Joe Haden. Attrition is real. Players are starters or back-ups for a reason, even if some competition battles are tighter than others.
“It’s about having each other’s backs. We need to work together and these past two games we haven’t done that,” defensive captain Cam Heyward said after the Bills game. “There is a disconnect there.”
If they can reconnect? There is an extra day of rest this week, good veteran leadership, maybe a few bodies returning, who knows?
Bengals are up next and then battles with likely playoff teams Indianapolis and at Cleveland.
No one predicted the Steelers would start 11-0, who is to say they can’t find their game again?
