Everyone who calls the Black and Gold their favorite team is in an uproar after watching the Steelers losing at home to the New England Patriots, 21-18, dropping them to 7-6 on the season while putting their playoff hopes in peril.
The Steelers have lost back-to-back games to teams they should have beaten, dropping last Sunday’s contest to the 2-10 Arizona Cardinals before losing to the 2-10 Patriots on Thursday night. This is not the standard for a team whose standard is making the playoffs, winning the AFC, and competing to put more Lombardi Trophies in the trophy case.
After the game, head coach Mike Tomlin mentioned that the Steelers will come back from this loss because “this is what we do,” pointing to Pittsburgh as a team that works to overcome the odds and smile in the face of adversity as it battles to play winning football. Former Steelers Director of Football Operations and current Senior Vice President of Player Personnel for the XFL Doug Whaley called out Tomlin for his statement, questioning Pittsburgh and its lack of identity.
“He said this is what they do, and what they’ve done is at home get beat by inferior teams,” Whaley said about Tomlin on the WPXI Black & Gold Show Thursday night. “Then he said this is who we are. Tell me, Coach, who are you? Who are you on offense? Who are you on defense? Offense, you have no identity. Defense, the strength of your team has let your team down the last two games. So to me when he says those statements, I’ve gotta have a follow-up question. Please explain more because I don’t know. The fans don’t know. And the biggest question is do the people in that locker room know who they are?”
It’s a hard pill to swallow for a team we are used to seeing in the playoffs on an annual basis get beat by two of the three worst teams in the league in back-to-back weeks. Frankly, this has been an ongoing trend regarding a Steelers team that has been deteriorating on the inside, losing games to teams it should beat in crucial moments of the season while also getting bounced from the postseason in the first game. As much as we want to believe Tomlin’s Tomlinisms, they have become stale and have lost their punch, especially to Steelers fans. They see through the facade and look at the results being put out there on the football field.
The offense has been a mess for the better part of two seasons now, regardless of who is calling the plays or who is under center. The defense, while dealing with multiple injuries, is seeing teams consistently move the ball when it is supposed to be the strength of the team that Tomlin. Seeing the tight end position gash Pittsburgh in back-to-back weeks repeatedly throughout both games shows the coaching staff’s inability to adjust in-game. That can also be said for the offense as the Steelers continue to miss big-play opportunities down the field and fail to execute on possession downs.
The players looked distraught in the locker room following the game. Tomlin looked just as shocked at the podium during his postgame press conference, having a loss of words for what his team had just experienced. It was the face of a man who doesn’t have any answers on how to stop the bleeding, how to keep the ship afloat, and how to keep morale high. Tomlin must do some soul searching in the next couple of days and decide what he wants the true identity of this team to be and then make sure his message is heard loud and clear by the rest of the team.
He can say that the 2023 Pittsburgh Steelers have an identity with the standard being the standard, but based on what we’ve seen this season, this team still lacks the identity needed to be a true playoff contender.
