One play after Pittsburgh Steelers veteran cornerback Cameron Sutton dropped a would-be interception off of Mac Jones, punt returner Gunner Olszewski muffed a punt from New England’s Jake Bailey, which ultimately led to a three-play, 10-yard touchdown drive for New England, extending the Patriots’ lead to 17-6.
In a moment where he was trying to make a play, Olszewski cost the Steelers dearly, which led to some frustrations on the sideline and after the game for the free agent signee, who was signed away from the Patriots as a special teams ace in an effort to replace Ray-Ray McCloud.
Not only was his muffed punt frustrating, so too was the offensive output from the Steelers’ offense on Sunday at the home opener at Acrisure Stadium. Speaking with reporters following the loss, Olszewski expressed his frustration, stating that losing while trying to learn offensively makes things even worse.
“Very frustrating. When you leave your defense out to dry like that, it doesn’t help when you turn it over on special teams and that’s on me,” Olszewski stated following the loss, according to the official transcript. “It’s very frustrating. When you lose, it’s tough when you have to learn while you’re losing. It’s alright to learn while you’re winning. It’s always more fun doing that, but to learn while you’re losing hurts a little bit more.”
Olszewski was very clearly frustrated with his performance Sunday, which is understandable considering how game-changing the muffed punt was. Of course, who knows how the game turns out for the black and gold if Sutton is able to hold onto that interception on the ill-advised throw from Sutton, taking away any opportunity for Olszewski to muff the punt.
But, it’s a game of inches and small outcome-changing bounces of the football, and it played out that way Sunday.
Hopefully Olszewski is able to put the game and his individual performance behind him quickly with just four days between now and the Week 3 matchup against the Cleveland Browns on Thursday night on Amazon Prime.
