Right away it was pretty clear that Sunday’s road trip to Houston to take on the Texans inside NRG Stadium was going to be a disastrous one for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Steelers came out flat and appeared rather lifeless, getting punched in the mouth over and over again by a young, rebuilding Texans team under first-year head coach DeMeco Ryans. That led to a rather putrid 30-6 loss in which the Steelers had no answers for anything Houston did offensively and couldn’t figure out the Texans’ defense at all.
On the day, Pittsburgh allowed 451 yards of total offense to a rookie QB-led offense with C.J. Stroud while generating just 225 yards of total offense.
The loss was one of the ugliest in the Mike Tomlin era for the Steelers, and it very clearly has them as “losers” from CBS Sports coming out of Week Four, while also receiving a very definitive failing grade from the media outlet.
“Whatever Matt Canada is doing in Pittsburgh definitely doesn’t seem to be working. The Steelers offensive coordinator called another underwhelming game on a day where his team only totaled 53 yards in the first half,” CBS Sports’ John Breech wrote for CBSSports.com Monday morning regarding the Steelers. “One especially baffling call came in the fourth quarter when Canada called for a pass on fourth-and-1 when Najee Harris had been averaging 5.1 yards per carry up to that point. [Kenny] Pickett got sacked on the play and had to leave the game due to a knee injury. The Steelers defense also struggled and when that happens, this team just has no chance of winning.”
That about perfectly sums up Sunday’s game for the Steelers.
Canada remains under serious fire regarding the third-year coordinator’s inept offense that simply can’t generate much of anything, even on a day in which third-year running back Najee Harris was chewing up yardage at an impressive clip on the ground. As Breech points out, whatever it is that Canada is doing — or attempting to do offensively in Pittsburgh — flat-out isn’t working.
The offensive inability to even be average puts a ton of pressure on a star-studded defense to shoulder the load each and every week, and when the defense can’t be superheroes, it leads to performances like the one that the Steelers put up on Sunday.
Head coach Mike Tomlin promised changes following the Week Four disappointment, but that all feels like lip-service at the moment.
Outside of the failing grade, the Steelers were obvious “losers” for CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin.
“Remember when everyone was picking Pittsburgh to surprise out of the AFC North in the preseason? Fun times. QB Kenny Pickett left Sunday’s blowout loss to the Texans (!) due to injury, but even before that, the entire operation remained dysfunctional. Coach Mike Tomlin vowed afterward that changes will be coming, but most people could’ve told you weeks ago that change was overdue,” Benjamin writes regarding the Steelers as losers for CBSSports.com.
Change has been needed for quite some time now offensively. The Steelers have been stuck in the mud since Canada took over. Before, it was about him not having the quarterback that fit his system with the aging, immobile Ben Roethlisberger.
Then, it was about needing a year for Pickett to settle into the offense and feel comfortable and confident.
Now, four games into the season, four rather rough overall showings outside of a few splash plays, what now? It might not be the talent on the offense, it might be the scheme and the guy calling the plays. That’s starting to feel more and more obvious to everyone on the outside of the Steelers’ franchise.
Is it obvious on the inside?
Gear up for another week of talk regarding a lack of execution, missed assignments, etcetera.
What a rough week.
