After being on the cusp of the top 15 in the NFL.com Power Rankings compiled by Eric Edholm coming off of the Week Three win over the Las Vegas Raiders, the Pittsburgh Steelers were seemingly starting to hit their stride.
Then, things collapsed in rather disappointing fashion in Week Four. On the road against the Houston Texans, the Steelers were dominated in all facets of the game, resulting in a 30-6 loss to the upstart Texans. That brutal beatdown caused the Steelers to plummet in Edholm’s latest power rankings.
On Tuesday, Pittsburgh fell seven spots, landing at No. 23 overall, sandwiched between the Washington Commanders and the New England Patriots.
“Dyed-in-the-wool Steelers fans have heard statements from Mike Tomlin similar to the pledge — “Hell yeah, there’s gonna be changes” — he offered after getting blown out by Houston. The questions are what will change, and how?” Edholm writes regarding the Steelers in his latest power rankings. “There will likely be a temptation to start their top two 2023 draft picks and replace Najee Harris with Jaylen Warren; might they even make a change at offensive coordinator? These are all well-worn themes among observers in Steeltown by now. The injury Kenny Pickett suffered Sunday isn’t considered serious, but the Steelers should at least consider sitting him Sunday against the Ravens if he’s not fairly healthy. Even when Cam Heyward and Diontae Johnson return from injury, they won’t be able to fix the whole ship by themselves.”
Things are not great in Pittsburgh. The offense remains an affront to modern football, the injuries are piling up and there is no real positive momentum for the Steelers right now.
Head coach Mike Tomlin stated that there will be changes offensively after the debacle that was Sunday in Houston in which the Steelers generated just 225 yards of offense — total — in the 30-6 loss. What those changes will be remains to be seen. Chances are, it was just lip service from Tomlin. Real, impactful changes like making a change at offensive coordinator or benching some struggling pieces are unlikely.
Instead, they will focus on business as usual, talk all week about executing better and then go out in Week Five and have the same issues against a great Ravens defense.
As for what Edholm suggests, why would the Steelers bench Najee Harris after his best game of the season? It makes no sense and reeks of a guy that didn’t watch the game and instead is leaning in on past discussions that were largely silly. Playing Broderick Jones at left tackle and Joey Porter Jr. at cornerback might help struggling position groups, but that’s a lot to ask the young kids to come in and essentially act as saviors.
Getting Cameron Heyward and Diontae Johnson back in the future might help, too, but the team shouldn’t completely fall off of a cliff offensively and from a run defense standpoint without those two in the lineup, especially after an offseason in which talk about the Steelers’ depth was positive.
Sitting at No. 23 right now in the power rankings feels like the correct spot for the Steelers. Of course, if they beat the Ravens, they’ll rocket up the board again. Such is the way of life in the NFL on a week-to-week basis.
