The Acrisure Stadium crowd has had a short leash this year. After chants of “Fire Canada” filled the stadium for much of the first half of the season, boos and calls for Pittsburgh Steelers backup QB Mason Rudolph filled the December air tonight as Mitch Trubisky struggled in a pathetic 21-18 loss to the New England Patriots. After the game, Trubisky said the frustration was “understandable” via the Steelers’ YouTube channel.
“Played like crap in the first half,” Trubisky said when asked about fans venting their frustration. “It is what it is. They’re frustrated, we’re all frustrated, but we did better in the second half to give us a chance. But I got to play better, and that’s the bottom line.”
The Steelers did take momentum from the end of the first half into the second half, cutting New England’s lead from 21-3 to 21-18, but they couldn’t close the deal late. Trubisky wasn’t good, but the bulk of his struggles came in the first half, the seventh-year veteran going just 6-of-11 for 61 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He also consistently faded back while under pressure and didn’t get much zip on his throws.
He just didn’t look good, and it led to the fans to call for Rudolph, Trubisky’s backup and Pittsburgh’s usual emergency quarterback, to replace him.
Mike Tomlin said after the game he never considered making a switch to Rudolph, and that Trubisky played fine in the second half, but it wasn’t good enough because the Steelers lost.
The Steelers are now 7-6 and making the playoffs is not going to be easy. Trubisky is under center until QB Kenny Pickett recovers from ankle surgery, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to Trubisky under center until Week 18. He’s got to play better than he did Thursday night for the Steelers to have any shot at making the playoffs. Given that they’re currently out of the playoff picture, it doesn’t look all that promising with three of their final four games on the road.
Losing back-to-back games to 2-10 opponents is as bad as it gets, and the fact that it happened falls on Mike Tomlin and the coaching staff. Injuries aren’t an excuse, and the Steelers were flat-out outmatched by two teams considered to be among the worst in football. This team is on the fast track to irrelevancy, and that’s pathetic after being 7-4 just five days ago. The fans are going to continue to show their frustration as this team continues to fade, but there’s only one game left at Acrisure Stadium, in Week 16 against the Cincinnati Bengals.
