Rather quickly, in the first half of Thursday night’s matchup against the New England Patriots, the Pittsburgh Steelers found themselves in a significant 21-3 hole.
That might not seem like that big of a hole in general when it comes to football, but for the Steelers and their style of play in recent years, that hole seems rather insurmountable. That was the case Thursday night, as the Steelers couldn’t come all the way back, falling 21-18. They turned the ball over on downs twice in the fourth quarter, leading to a second straight loss to a team eight games under .500 in a span of four days, making NFL history.
For former Steelers’ wide receiver Plaxico Burress, the look on head coach Mike Tomlin’s face early in the game showed that he knew he didn’t have the QB to win those types of games.
“The look on Tomlin’s face yesterday [Thursday], he really wasn’t excited the way this game was going offensively,” Burress said during an appearance on The Carton Show Friday. “…He knew that he doesn’t have the quarterback to go out and win this football game last night. No doubt about that. You can see it on his face.”
That might seem a bit harsh from Burress, but based on Thursday night, it’s pretty darn accurate.
Over the last few seasons, the Steelers have played a certain style, which is running the football, playing good defense, taking the football away at a high rate, keeping the game close throughout, and then making enough winning plays late in the game to pick up the victory. More often than not, it’s worked.
But at the smallest sign of trouble and the game getting away from that script for the Steelers, they find themselves in serious trouble.
That was the case Thursday night. The Steelers fell behind quickly and never recovered. A Mitch Trubisky interception to Jabrill Peppers gave New England a short field, which led to a Bailey Zappe touchdown pass, making it 14-3. Then, Zappe found Hunter Henry for his second touchdown of the game, putting the Steelers in a 21-3 hole.
Trubisky is a good athlete, one who can make plays with his legs and take some shots downfield in the passing game, but he’s far too aggressive and is a bit loose with the football. That came back to haunt the Steelers in the end.
It shouldn’t be the case that a 21-3 hole is game-ending, especially early in the second quarter, but that’s the reality for the Steelers right now. Tomlin knows it. The look on his face throughout the game in the first half showed that. It won’t get better anytime soon, either.
