Perspective Of An Average Steelers Fan: Arizona Humiliates Pittsburgh

Game Prelude

Arizona came to town with just two wins. But quarterback Kyler Murray was back for his fourth start of the season. And James Conner was also back after missing four games earlier in the season. But the Cardinals are riddled with injuries and recently released tight end Zach Ertz. Pittsburgh was relatively healthy, with Minkah Fitzpatrick returning after a hamstring kept him out for several games. Minkah, T.J. Watt, and Cam Heyward were on the field together for the first time since week one.

On paper, the Steelers offense should’ve rolled over Arizona. Especially the Steelers run game. But even passing, Arizona had key defensive backs hobbled. The Steelers’ defense must first shut down James Conner in his homecoming. Then just bottle up Kyler Murray, who has been working on his footwork. The Cardinals kicker has a very strong leg with several field goals over 60 yards. If the Steelers protect the ball and take away a few themselves, they should be in decent shape.

Gameday Experience – Is it Safe?

I drove up from Maryland on Saturday. Excited to see how the Steelers would play against both the Cardinals and New England on Thursday Night.

But I must mention the two suspensions due to lightning. Especially the first. The day started out clear, but as the first half ended, dark clouds loomed. I saw the first flash of lightning with less than two minutes to play with Arizona in scoring position. There were two more flashes of lightning, drawing an audible reaction from the crowd. I fully expected the play to be suspended. But the game continued with Pittsburgh taking two timeouts including commercial breaks. I do not know the NFL criteria for lightning.

But I do know USA Rugby’s criteria which are easy to measure. They use the 30/30 rule. The rule states in part, … “when you see lightning, count the time until you hear thunder. If this time is 30 seconds or less go immediately to a safer place.” Now, I could not hear the thunder very well due to crowd noise. But thought I heard a rumble well under 30 seconds. Officials opted not to suspend play and asked fans to seek shelter until after the half ended despite the three very visible flashes of lightning.

I just hope the NFL policy on lightning is not as subjective as their rulebook, which leaves so much judgment at the official’s discretion.

Putrid Steelers Offense

The Steelers began the game looking pretty good. Kenny Pickett connected with George Pickens for 38 yards to reach the 16-yard line. Najee Harris ran for five yards to reach the 11. But the drive fizzled, and Pittsburgh settled for a field goal. But Pittsburgh forced them to punt their next three possessions away. Then Pittsburgh put together a 12-play 58-yard drive that held the ball for nearly eight minutes. Kenny Pickett scrambled to the 1-yard line but injured his ankle on the play. I could see him pounding the grass with his fist in pain. He must have known that it was a significant injury. Mitch Trubisky comes in on fourth down.

The Steelers handoff from the shotgun and Najee Harris stopped short of the line. What was stupid to me was that the offensive line blocked on a slant. A goal-line defense normally rushes straight ahead. The straightforward force is going to prevail against an angled attack. And that is exactly what happened. The offensive line got no push, and the maligned Cardinals defense prevailed. No score left the game tied at 3-3. But Arizona scored on their next possession to end the half ahead 10-3.

Second Half Offense Little Better

The second-half offense little better. On second down, Pittsburgh was forced to take their first timeout due to just ten players on the field. Then a 14-yard Jaylen Warren run was negated by an illegal formation. Then Mason Cole fired another low snap. At least his third of the game. Mitch Trubisky could not handle it, and the Cardinals recovered the ball deep in Pittsburgh territory. Arizona scored 17-3, and the game was suspended a second time due to lightning. Another drive ended with a missed field goal. Then a three and out.

With 8:28 to play and down 24-3, the Steelers go into a half-baked no huddle offense. Players walking up to the line of scrimmage. The Cardinals played a prevent defense. Pittsburgh goes 70 yards and Diontae Johnson scores at the end. But the drive took 4:03 off the clock. Nearly half the time that had been available. Maybe they practice their no-huddle by walking in practice. But a little bit of hustle might have demonstrated that they had not already quit.

Steelers Defense

The Steelers’ defense allowed Arizona to tie the game when Elandon Roberts leveled Emari Demercado on a third and 12 play. That unnecessary roughness penalty extended their drive. But the Steelers forced three punts, including Alex Highsmith sacking Kyler Murray. Plus, the defense stopped James Conner several times for losses.

The critical drive began with 4:51 to play in the first half. Kenny Pickett was injured, but the Cardinals had the ball at their own 1-yard line. Elandon Roberts was injured tackling Conner on the second play. His importance was exposed as the Cardinals drove down the field to complete a 99-yard drive with a touchdown and to take the lead that they would not relinquish. The Cardinals converted five third downs during this possession. Trey McBride emerged as Arizona’s weapon of choice. Pittsburgh had no answer to covering the tight end.

Arizona Completes the Humiliation

Pittsburgh’s defense continued their woeful play in the second half. On a very short field following Arizona’s fumble recovery, they gave up a touchdown. Joey Porter spun the receiver around in the end zone to convert an incomplete pass into a first and goal on third and 8. Suddenly it’s 17-3. Arizona was forced to punt on their next possession. But not before eating up six minutes of playing time and taking the game into the fourth quarter. Keeanu Benton forced a fumble, but James Conner recovered the loose ball.

A special teams penalty gave Arizona the ball at their own 33-yard line. Murray targeted Mykal Walker, who had to cover Trey McBride and was burnt for 16 yards. Then Arizona did what Pittsburgh had intended going into the game. They turned to running back James Conner to pound the life out of the Steelers’ defense. Conner scored on his third straight run to go up 24-3.

With 4:25 left and the score 24-10, Arizona openly celebrated. Conner runs 29 yards on the first play. Then Pittsburgh was penalized for having 12 players on the field. Conner ran four more times before Arizona ended the game with three straight kneel-downs. Humiliation complete.

Special Teams

Special teams are an underappreciated facet of the game where one big play can shift momentum or even decide the game-winner.

I break special teams into three phases: Kickoffs, punting, and scoring (field goals and extra points.) Here is an overview of the special teams play during the game:

KICKOFFS

Chris Boswell kicked off three times. His first returned 24 yards to the 29-yard line. The second touched back. Rondale Moore fair-caught the third at the 5-yard line to pick up 20 free yards due to NFL rules.

Matt Prater kicked off five times. Godwin Igwebuike muffed the catch but recovered it and opted to return from inside the goal line. His 26-yard return reached the 24. The remaining four kickoffs touched back.

THE STATS

Advantage Cardinals.

PUNTING

Pressley Harvin punted four times, averaging 44.8 yards. His punts were acceptable. But special teams captain Miles Killebrew committed two penalties. First, he ran into Greg Dortch who had signaled for a fair catch. Instead of the ball behind the 20, Arizona got starting position at their 34-yard line. Killebrew cost Pittsburgh another 15 yards of field position by face-masking the returner. That penalty gave Arizona the ball deep in Pittsburgh territory at the 33.

Blake Gillikin punted five times. Killebrew ran into the punter, but Arizona declined the penalty since his 42-yard punt went out of bounds at the Pittsburgh 29. Then Gillikin boomed punts for 59, 56, and 62 yards, respectively. The last downed at the Pittsburgh 7-yard line. He then pooched a short 33-yarder that was downed at the 4. If not for a single touchback, Gillikin would have netted over 50 yards a punt. That’s what I hoped for Harvin, who is proving to be a mediocre punter at best. Though he was okay in this game. The Killebrew penalties were unacceptable.

THE STATS

Advantage Cardinals.

FIELD GOALS and EXTRA POINTS

Chris Boswell had a 45-yard field goal attempt. At first it looked good, then just hooked to the right. It was that kind of day.

Matt Prater kicked a 51-yard field goal and made all three extra-point kicks.

THE STATS

Advantage Cardinals

YOUR HOT TAKES DURING THE GAME

Thank you, Ross McCorkle, for keeping us up to date on the game’s first and second-half Live Update and Discussion Threads. Steelers Depot respondents contributed 1526 first-half comments. Respondents added  2266 more second-half comments.  Here are the top three comments from each half. I don’t know the algorithm used by Disqus but here is how they stacked it up:

The top three first-half comments:

Dan6374 had the best first-half comment with “No question I would rather see Mason than Mitch.” Surprising to me after watching Pittsburgh fans boo Mason Rudolph in preseason games before even taking a snap.

Chris92021 frustrated with the first play called after Kenny Pickett knocked out of the game: “Shotgun run on 4th and goal from the 1 is something Canada would do.”

Grazie’s disgust with the playbook had commenters agreeing. “Eliminate DESIGNED pass plays behind the line!!!”

Warning. The second-half comments won’t be any cheerier.

StrengthofVictory had the top comment of the game by bluntly stating, “An offense that can’t gain one yard, followed by a defense that fails to prevent 99. Against a 2-10 opponent. At home. Someone remind me again why I put myself through this week after week, and year after year…?”

Jason W shifted focus to the uninformed commentary by pundits who obviously had done no homework. “Completely off topic but did anyone else hear the announcer say, ‘the Steelers have had basically no injuries this season?’ Lol No just all of our MLB’s, Dionte, Minkah, Cam etc.”

3DiamondDynasty ready for a coaching change as are a growing number of Steelers fans. “Well, I think it’s time for Steeler fans to finally admit and start looking at Mike Tomlin as a major issue with this team. This team comes in unprepared constantly against bad quality teams. Even with a backup we should be playing much better. Tomlin and company NEVER make in game adjustments the game has passed him by. Great coaches don’t get smoked by teams with 2 wins on the season “

An embarrassing game. Hard to argue with the negative sentiments.

CONCLUSION

The Steelers’ offense looked promising until Kenny Pickett was knocked out of the game. The defense laid an egg. The 99-yard drive by Arizona demonstrated that a Steelers defense, even with T.J. Watt, Minkah Fitzpatrick, and Cam Heyward on the field together, is not dominant. The loss of inside linebacker Elandon Roberts was critical.

Pittsburgh penalties on offense, defense, and special teams cannot be blamed on bad NFL officiating. Forced to take a timeout with just ten offensive players on the field. Then a penalty for 12 defenders on the field is on the coaching staff. Just an embarrassing display of football.

Pittsburgh plays in just a couple of days with a new quarterback. The inside linebacker group is gutted. Minkah Fitzpatrick broke his hand. T.J. Watt with an injury. The Arizona game was important but not critical to the Steelers’ season hopes. But the loss makes the Patriots game critical. Somehow, Pittsburgh remains a wildcard spot. But a loss to New England may well spell the Pittsburgh team on their way to their first losing season since 2003.

A spiral almost as bad as the collapse following Mike Tomlin uttering his infamous “unleash hell in December” comment early in his career as Steelers coach. But as my friend Canada Glen who attended the game with me: “Live to fight another day.”

Your Song Selection

I always like to include a bit of music. The Steelers are at a crossroads. Instead of setting up an end-of-season showdown with Baltimore for a division championship. They face another 2-10 team after losing to Arizona. How low can they go? Here is Limbo Rock performed by Chubby Checker.