When the Arizona Cardinals weren’t beating the Pittsburgh Steelers yesterday, the Steelers were doing a good job of beating themselves. Stormy weather wasn’t the only sloppy part of the team’s 24-10 loss on Sunday, essentially a historic first for this time of year. Pittsburgh’s offense was a mess pre and post-snap with countless issues wiping out positive plays and leading to negative ones.
Bad snaps. Not having enough players in the huddle. Illegal formations. False starts. All played a role in the offense managing just three points until a late Diontae Johnson touchdown produced the Steelers’ first and only touchdown of the game.
Frustration still lingered almost 24 hours after the game. Speaking to reporters Monday, TE Pat Freiermuth said the offense can’t keep making basic mistakes.
“It’s very frustrating,” he said via Steelers Live. “We’ve had the same formations for three years now, names of them. And it’s pretty frustrating.”
While the Steelers have changed coordinators and play-callers, Eddie Faulkner and Mike Sullivan replacing Matt Canada, the offense is still Canada’s. The formations, the players, and likely all the verbiage are what Canada implemented. Those things can’t be swapped out midseason. Despite many pieces of the offense returning from last year and those who are new having been with the team for upwards of nearly nine months, Pittsburgh made mistakes that would hardly be acceptable in a preseason game, let alone a Week 13 contest. Crowd noise wasn’t even an excuse as Pittsburgh was back at home after playing two AFC North road games.
Monday morning, we detailed the mistakes Pittsburgh made in all three phases that created an upset defeat.
For Freiermuth, fixing the problems are as basic as the issues they created in the first place.
“Study the game plan longer,” he said when asked how to avoid repeating their mistakes. “Communicate. Line up where you’re supposed to line up.”
The Steelers came into the game as one of the league’s least-penalized teams. They exited with nine flags for nearly 80 yards, their worst showing in more than three years. Despite facing another 2-10 team Thursday in the New England Patriots, the Pats boast an impressive defense, far better than what the Steelers have done this year. In fact, New England has the NFL’s best rushing defense from a yards-per-carry standpoint, allowing just 3.2 yards per tote.
Pittsburgh can’t get away from running the ball in this one and will have to find a way to create lanes for Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren. And they’ll have to stop hurting themselves before they can expect to beat anyone else.
