The Steelers are now back at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, facing down a long regular season that looks a lot more promising given how things have gone leading up to it. Finishing just above .500 last year, they anticipate being able to compete with any team in the league this season with second-year QB Kenny Pickett leading the way.
They’ve done a great deal to address what they identified as their shortcomings during the offseason, which included addressing the offensive and defensive lines as well as the secondary and the inside linebacker room, which is nearly entirely different from last year. The results have been positive so far.
Even well into the regular season and beyond, there are going to be plenty of questions that need answered. When will the core rookies get to play, or even start? Is the depth sufficient where they upgraded? Can they stand toe-to-toe with the Bengals and the other top teams in the league? We’ll try to frame the conversation in relevant ways as long as you stick with us throughout the season, as we have for many years.
Question: Did the Steelers really overlook the Cardinals?
Over the course of the past two days, multiple players have, in so many words, felt as though the Steelers did not give the Arizona Cardinals their due. RB Jaylen Warren was the most vocal immediately following the game, while WR Diontae Johnson had some things to say yesterday. S Minkah Fitzpatrick admitted that they didn’t credit TE Trey McBride at first until he started exposing them.
On the whole, I don’t really buy into the concept of “trap games”. Any team can beat any other team on any given day; it doesn’t have to be because the “better” team wasn’t taking their opponent seriously enough and thus not trying as hard or preparing as thoroughly.
But it’s hard to ignore the comments that players have made. Granted, they are all speaking individually, and perhaps not even about themselves but of their general perception. Perhaps that stems from a results-based response to what transpired. They must not have tried as hard as they should have given how the game unfolded.
Pittsburgh did play most of the game without its starting quarterback, a fact that should not be overlooked regardless of what one’s opinion is of Kenny Pickett. Teams generally do not fare as well when their starter goes down.
If indeed some of the players really overlooked the Cardinals on Sunday, however, and thought that this would be like a preseason game, then at the very least it hopefully serves a lesson for this week. They are preparing to host a two-win New England Patriots team in the midst of selecting between two backup-quality players to be their quarterback. Are they taking making sure they don’t overlook them too after what just happened?
