The Steelers looked undisciplined and unfocused yesterday against the Arizona Cardinals, losing to a 2-10 team that many expected Pittsburgh to beat. The Steelers racked up multiple penalties that put them back behind the chains against the Cardinals as well as had several mishaps occur on offense. They included a botched snap from C Mason Cole to QB Mitch Trubisky as well as a failed fourth-and-goal rush attempt by RB Najee Harris that got stuffed. A 99-yard touchdown drive by Arizona followed as Pittsburgh’s defense couldn’t get off the field.
After the game, LT Dan Moore Jr. told reporters that the team needs to be more mentally tough in certain situations, like converting on third down or when on the goal line knocking on the door of getting a touchdown. Head coach Mike Tomlin, when asked about Moore’s comment during his weekly press conference on Monday, refuted the notion that his team lacks mental toughness.
“We’ve been in a lot of circumstances, tight circumstances where we’ve won,” Tomlin said to the media via video from the Steelers’ YouTube channel. “I don’t necessarily know that I agree with that. Again, he was probably just answering a question that was phrased in a certain way.”
To be fair, Moore was asked if he could put a finger on why the offense can’t sustain success, ultimately choosing mental toughness as a potential culprit. To Tomlin’s defense, his team has shown mental toughness throughout the season, having won seven one-possession games with QB Kenny Pickett completing multiple game-winning drives in the fourth quarter, including against the Baltimore Ravens on a touchdown pass to WR George Pickens with under two minutes to play as well as against the Tennessee Titans on a scoring pass WR Diontae Johnson to give the Steelers a lead late in the fourth quarter.
Still, Pittsburgh’s offense has shown a lack of mental toughness on several occasions as well. Those include yesterday’s performance against Arizona as well as against the Green Bay Packers in a win where the defense bailed the offense out as Pickett couldn’t seemingly do anything thing throughout the game. The same occurred against the Cleveland Browns in a loss on the road where the running game and defense played well, but the passing game failed to get anything going throughout the contest.
Instead of categorizing Pittsburgh’s issue as lacking mental toughness, consistency in the execution on a play-by-play basis is probably a better issue to point toward. It’s the one the players have mentioned themselves numerous times this season, stating that they must do a better job executing the plays called on the field as it seems like someone is doing something wrong nearly on every snap. Tomlin’s comments about performing on the weighty downs also can come into play here as well. Pittsburgh’s offense has shown that it can move the ball between the 20s, but it too often sputters once it reaches the red zone, causing promising drives to stall.
Pittsburgh must establish some semblance of consistency moving forward on offense. Every team is going to have occasional mishaps, but Pittsburgh’s are coming at an alarming rate. They must embody the mental toughness they have flashed on more of a regular basis, being able to capitalize on opportunities given to them rather than have them slip away against teams they should beat.
