The Pittsburgh Steelers dropped their Week 11 game against the Cleveland Browns in a game where the Browns was missing much of their offensive line, their expensive quarterback, and, of course, their star running back. This is a game the Steelers could have and should have won, so they will rightfully catch some flak in the national media for the next week.
Given the injuries to Deshaun Watson and Joe Burrow in a matter of days, the Steelers’ schedule looked extremely promising, and some were starting to talk about the Steelers having a chance to get up to double digits in the win column this season. They could have been 3-0 in the division and still just a half-game out of first place behind the Baltimore Ravens. Instead, they are 6-4 and are left with more questions than answers about what this team can accomplish down the stretch.
On ESPN’s Get Up, former NFL head coach Rex Ryan gave his take on the state of the Steelers.
“That’s certainly not the Mike Tomlin way, or the Pittsburgh Steeler way of doing things,” Ryan said on the possibility of an offensive coordinator change. “It’s a classy organization. They don’t make these kind of changes. However, we saw Buffalo make a change and it was a positive change, at least in the first week.”
The calls to fire Matt Canada have been loud this season, but after back-to-back weeks calling the game from the sideline and some strides in offensive production, they had quieted a bit. Now they are likely to be louder than ever. As Ryan said, the Bills made that change midseason and already it appears to be paying off with a 32-point offensive explosion on Sunday against the New York Jets.
Kenny Pickett threw the ball 28 times, completing 15 passes for 106 yards. He didn’t turn the ball over, but he also didn’t throw a touchdown, and with three sacks taken for a combined loss of 29 yards, the passing game netted 77 yards. Just three yards more than Jaylen Warren had on his 74-yard touchdown run on a single play. This begged the question for Ryan of whether it’s the quarterback or the system.
“This offense is absolutely abysmal and Kenny Pickett, all we can go on is the stats, well, let me tell you how bad this quarterback appears to be. Whether it’s the system or the quarterback. He’s had 22 starts over his career — 13 touchdowns,” Ryan said. “That’s the fewest of any quarterback in the last 20 years. So, is it the system, is it the quarterback? It’s something, but it’s awful.”
According to NFL on CBS, Pickett has the lowest touchdown percentage of any quarterback since the merger who has attempted 500-plus passes. That is obviously not anywhere near good enough to be a franchise quarterback in the NFL.
