The Pittsburgh Steelers’ roller coaster of a season hit its lowest point Sunday as they lost to the Arizona Cardinals 24-10 at home. The Cardinals only had two wins all season entering Sunday’s game, but you would be forgiven if you watched that game and thought that the two teams’ records were swapped. Then RB Jaylen Warren dropped a proverbial bomb after the Cardinals snapped a nine-game road losing streak, admitting that the Steelers probably “took them lightly.”
Needless to say, that comment was gobbled up. On Monday’s episode of the Jim Rome Show, Jim Rome dug into the comments through the context of how he envisioned head coach Mike Tomlin reacted to Warren’s interview.
“It sounds like their problems are a lot bigger than just who is calling the plays,” Rome said. “Check out Jaylen Warren after the game just casually admitting that they really weren’t prepared and didn’t take the Cardinals seriously enough…Can you imagine anything more aggravating to Mike Tomlin than one of his guys saying publicly, ‘Yeah, we didn’t take them seriously enough’? Because it’s the greatest indictment ever against a coach, and Tomlin is all about that, all about that. ‘No way would we ever take the field anything short of 100% prepared.’ Man, I can’t wait to hear his reaction. We may finally, finally, finally get some straight fire from him.”
There’s a lot to unpack here. First, the thought that a team that was 7-4 by the skin of its teeth (and defensive effort) was overlooking anyone is bad. Yes, on paper the Steelers should have defeated the Cardinals. Bold statement, right?
A 7-4 team will always be favored over a 2-10 team. Always. Then you factor in that the Cardinals had given up at least 100 yards on the ground in seven straight games, including over 200 yards the previous game, and that was a favorable matchup. The Steelers had been running the ball incredibly well, gaining at least 150 yards on the ground in the previous four games.
The Steelers did still run the ball against the Cardinals, but they only gained 130 yards on 31 carries. Unfortunately for the Steelers, the Cardinals committed to the run game as well and ran the ball for 150 yards on 38 carries. It snapped a two-game streak by the Steelers’ defense of holding opponents under 100 yards rushing and a four-game streak of the Steelers outgaining their opponents on the ground.
Most importantly, the Cardinals scored two touchdowns on the ground versus no rushing touchdowns by the Steelers.
Circling back to Rome’s comments, he points out that Tomlin had to be fuming about Warren’s comments. When Tomlin was asked about potentially overlooking the Cardinals, his response was “No.” Other players agreed with Tomlin but were couched in “I feel” by OLB T.J. Watt and “I don’t think so” by QB Mitch Trubisky.
Whether the Steelers overlooked the Cardinals or not, the end result was a disaster for the Steelers and Tomlin. If indeed the team was properly prepared, that speaks volumes about the quality of players the team fielded. If the team was not prepared, that speaks volumes about the coaching staff.
Either way, the problems are running deep in Pittsburgh, and time is running out. They’re still in the playoff picture but starting QB Kenny Pickett is sidelined with an ankle injury and the team can’t afford any more slip-ups. The odds are still slightly in their favor of making the playoffs, but the Steelers are going to need some help if they want any chance of chasing down the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North.
That means the Steelers cannot afford to even look like they are taking any team lightly. That starts with the New England Patriots on Thursday night, another two-win team.
You can watch the rest of Rome’s thoughts on the Steelers and the rest of Week 13’s NFL action below.
