Following each game in the 2023 Pittsburgh Steelers season, I will highlight the event or string of events in the game that is the turning point. Not all turning points will be earth-shattering but are meant to give a unique look at how we arrived at the outcome of the game, one that may be hard to see during the live watch.
The Pittsburgh Steelers suffered a humiliating loss at home to the 2-10 Arizona Cardinals. Outside of the opening offensive drive that ended in a field goal for the Steelers, not a whole lot went well. One sequence can be clearly pointed to as the turning point in this game, and it probably goes without saying. The Steelers advanced all the way to the Cardinals’ 1-yard line, got stuffed on fourth down, and then allowed a 99-yard touchdown drive. Let’s look at some of the key plays from that sequence that resulted in a 14-point swing and an injury to QB Kenny Pickett.
The Steelers got into 1st and goal from the 7-yard line. On first down, Pickett tossed the ball to RB Najee Harris. Harris did a nice job pressing the line to influence defenders before cutting back to a hole that was briefly open. The only problem was, he couldn’t quite get his feet up over C Mason Cole’s planted foot and he stumbled forward long enough for the hole to close back up. He had a shot at running that all the way to the end zone for a score. The entire sequence of events that saw Pickett get injured and the Steelers end up with nothing to show for their long drive could have been avoided without Harris’ feet getting tangled up.
Two plays later, Pickett tried to scramble for the touchdown and got hurt. He opted to go right up the middle where there were plenty of defenders waiting for him. He was very close to scoring but didn’t and got hurt as a result. It is easy to sit here with the All-22 coaches’ film and point out Calvin Austin III open at the left pylon, but when he is looking to the left side of the field, it didn’t look like anything would be open. By the time Austin was open, Pickett had moved further into his progression and didn’t have time to look all the way out wide left.
Something he could have controlled was the path he took to the end zone. He went inside James Daniels’ block, but several defenders were in the end zone right where he was trying to go. If he had bounced outside, he could have been in a foot race to the right pylon and protected his body much better.
The next play Harris got stuffed trying to run up the middle. Mike Tomlin stood behind his decision to go for the touchdown. It is best to go for the touchdown early in games, especially when the alternative is putting your defense on a 99-yard field. Obviously, that long field did not work out for the Steelers as they had hoped.
The Steelers’ defense got the Cardinals into third-down situations five times on the long drive. ILB Elandon Roberts got hurt on the second play of the drive, which really hurt the defense. He wears the green communication dot and is the quarterback of the defense, so the Steelers were forced to adjust on the fly. That meant Mykal Walker as the every-down linebacker. For what it’s worth, Walker took responsibility for the 99-yard drive in his media availability after the game. He was the one tasked with covering TE Trey McBride, who did a lot of the damage on this drive.
At one point, the Steelers had the Cardinals in a 2nd and 17 following a holding call on McBride. This was a great opportunity to get them into 3rd and long, but they allowed a 12-yard gain on a screen pass to McBride the next play. T.J. Watt was nearly able to deflect the pass but couldn’t quite get there in time. ILB Mark Robinson saw the pulling center and came downhill to help stuff the run. He never recognized it as a screen pass and thus the middle of the field was left wide open for McBride to gain 12 yards on the play.
The very next play on 3rd and 5, the Steelers had Walker aligned in press-man coverage on McBride. He ran a post route and was able to find just enough separation out of his break for an easy completion and a 15-yard gain deep into the red zone. McBride ended up with 49 receiving yards and a touchdown catch on this drive. If Roberts had not gotten injured, it likely would have been him in coverage. But as soon as he left the game, the Cardinals picked on Walker and exploited the tight end mismatch all the way down the field.
So there you have it. A 14-point swing, an injured quarterback, and an injured defensive quarterback all in the last five minutes of the first half. If it wasn’t obvious before, this sequence was a big factor in the outcome of the game.
