The Pittsburgh Steelers’ loss to the Cleveland Browns on Thursday night still stings. It was a very winnable game in snowy conditions which could have moved Pittsburgh to 9-2. Instead they fell to 8-3 with some talking heads wondering how many more games the Steelers will win.
However, not everyone is concerned about the Steelers. Half of the NFL Network GameDay Morning crew of Rich Risen, Steve Mariucci, Kurt Warner, and Gerald McCoy stated that they believed there is nothing to worry about with Pittsburgh (Eisen did not give his opinion).
Mariucci was the first to address the question. He emphasized how impressive Pittsburgh’s win against the Baltimore Ravens was and then discussed the weather situation.
“Inclement weather is the great equalizer,” said Mariucci. “You can have a great team and a poor team, but a slip and a fumble, and all of a sudden it’s even.”
The weather affected both teams and it was obvious on Browns WR Jerry Jeudy’s big catch on their game winning drive Pittsburgh defensive backs were slipping trying to cover him.
Mariucci also praised Steelers QB Russell Wilson, saying that with Wilson at quarterback Pittsburgh is a strong team.
Former NFL defensive lineman Gerald McCoy also came to Pittsburgh’s defense, saying he isn’t concerned about the Steelers Super Bowl hopes.
“I’m not overly concerned because okay, they didn’t play bad,” said McCoy. “They played well. They’re coming off a short week, like you said, coach, they beat Baltimore but they won in every category. Sometimes things just happen.”
I would disagree with McCoy in the Steelers playing well. The Steelers really struggled in short yard situations and allowed Browns QB Jameis Winston plenty of time throughout the game which he took advantage of. There were plenty of open Cleveland receivers too, even if Winston and the open receiver did not connect every time. However, McCoy is right, sometimes things just happen. It is the NFL, everyone is a professional, and for Pittsburgh traveling on a short week after playing the Ravens game, Thursday night was always going to be difficult.
The lone dissenter was QB Kurt Warner. Warner believes Pittsburgh’s struggles to score and throw the ball are a cause for concern when discussing them as a Super Bowl contender.
“I worry about them when they have to throw the football,” said Warner. “They haven’t shown the efficiency, they haven’t shown the ability to win in that type of situation. And I always believe when you get to the playoffs, you’ve gotta win away from your strengths….I’m not sure Pittsburgh can win away from their strength if they’re forced to throw the football to win.”
Since Wilson has taken over at quarterback, the Steelers passing attack has improved. It is not top of the league, but it is capable. Even in a snowy game in Cleveland, Wilson still did a great job slinging the ball around the field as he completed 21-28 passes for 270 yards and a touchdown.
The Steelers offense has their problems, specifically in the red zone, but overall the passing game is improving. On the flip side, since coming back from the bye week, the Steelers rushing attack has struggled, specifically in short yardage situations.
There is work to do for sure, but there is time to pick it up. Wilson’s moon ball has opened up a new dimension for the offense as their deep passing attack has a ton of bite. Pittsburgh has to fix their red zone offense, but the good news it the Steelers are moving the football. The red zone offense should come.
Pittsburgh’s loss to the Browns sucked. But it isn’t the end of the world. The Steelers are till 8-3 and have a great opportunity to bounce back against the Cincinnati Bengals next Sunday. A Thursday night loss to a divisional rival in awful conditions is not something that should sounds alarms. There’s things to fix, but there should not be too much concern.
