The Pittsburgh Steelers got destroyed by the Buffalo Bills Sunday afternoon, losing 38-3 on the road in a laugher. The defense had no answer for Josh Allen, who threw for 424 yards and four TDs while adding another 42 yards on the ground before getting pulled midway through the second half after he totaled the most passing yards by a Bills QB in a single game in team history before the third quarter was over.
When Tomlin was asked if he would consider replacing current starters on the defensive side of the football after today’s performance, he acknowledged that changes need to be made after Pittsburgh got smacked as bad as it did Sunday in Buffalo.
“Absolutely, man,” Tomlin responded to the question in his postgame press conference, which aired live on the team’s YouTube page. “You play like we played today, you got to be open to do whatever is required to change the outcome of these games, so that’s a given. I don’t think anyone is going to be surprised by our willingness to turnover whatever stone to change the outcome of games like what transpired today. That’s just appropriate.”
The Steelers’ defense surrendered 552 total yards of offense on the afternoon, and likely would have bled even more yards and points if it weren’t for Buffalo showing mercy and yanking Allen out of the game in the second half. Pittsburgh appeared to be in great position on the defense’s first series of the game, with Pittsburgh downing the kick on the two-yard line, backing Buffalo up inside its own five. However, on third and ten, Josh Allen ripped one loose down the field to Gabriel Davis, who hauled in the bomb and took it to the house, running away from Levi Wallace and Tre Norwood for a 98-yard house call.
The onslaught would continue as Allen and Davis would hook up again in the second quarter on a 62-yard bomb, as Davis brought in the pass while being contested by S Minkah Fitzpatrick. From there on, Allen and the Bills did whatever they wanted to a Steelers’ defense that suffered several injuries during the game but put up as much resistance as a spider’s web would during a torrential flood.
Tomlin was then asked if this openness to change would also be applied to the coaching staff, which hasn’t been able to get any consistency on either side of the football.
“Like I said, I think everyone understands where we are and what transpired today and it is not cool,” Tomlin continued. “So, you can draw whatever conclusions you want to draw from it. That’s just the realities of our business at this level.”
Tomlin is obviously frustrated here with his team in totality, and frankly he should be given how this team has been trending in recent weeks. Pittsburgh has dropped four straight games and could be looking at an 0-5 start if it weren’t for a Minkah Fitzpatrick blocked PAT against Cincinnati Week 1. Changes need to be made, both in terms of personnel as well as with the scheme if this team wants to have any hope of turning this ship around yet this season.
For a coach that has favored familiarity and constantly has said that he chooses to not live in his fears, Mike Tomlin is now at a crossroads, knowing that what he has been trying to do both on offense and defense isn’t working, with Pittsburgh staring down its worst finish during his tenure as head coach. Now we wait to see what changes Tomlin intends to make going forward from this embarrassment of a loss Pittsburgh was handed today, and see if he really turns over every stone to try and right the ship.
