Following the Pittsburgh Steelers’ third consecutive loss, head coach Mike Tomlin vowed that the team would use the extra time on the mini-bye week to take a hard look and make “necessary changes” to turn the season around. During his Monday press conference ahead of Week 18, he talked a little about their process of taking that hard look and how they wasted very little time to get the process underway.
“Last Thursday we came in after Christmas Day’s game and met and analyzed not only that performance versus Kansas City, but really looked at some trends in most recent performances,” Tomlin said via the Steelers’ YouTube channel. “Specifically some things that we have been talking about in this setting. Things that have been building blocks in engineering victory for us.
“The turnover culture, our ability to safeguard the ball. Our ability to get the ball really in recent weeks has been compromised. We looked at that and analyzed that in an effort to flip that trend…Our inability to do those things really kind of shaped the most recent performances.”
From the high-level view of the meeting that Tomlin provided, it sounds like they focused specifically on how they can get back to doing the things that made them a good team for the first two thirds of the season. He mentioned after Week 17 that their turnover culture had regressed, and it sounds like that was a major component of this meeting.
The Steelers were previously pacing to be the top unit in the league in terms of turnover differential. Now, they are getting less takeaways while giving the ball away at a much higher rate. There have been fumbles and interceptions, including multiple in the red zone, while the Steelers have failed to capitalize on forced fumbles or opportunities to intercept opposing quarterbacks. The opportunities have been there, they just haven’t completed the plays.
They still have the second-best turnover differential in the league with plus-15, but that has regressed throughout the December losing streak. They have given the ball away five times while taking it away three times over the last three weeks. There have been plenty of opportunities that haven’t bounced the Steelers’ way.
Another topic that possibly came up at the meeting would have been the in-fighting on defense as some veiled finger pointing began after the loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Tomlin addressed that specifically and said he isn’t very concerned about the bickering because it shows they care.
This reflection was necessary, and finally having some time to breathe and implement changes could be just what the Steelers needed. The three-game, 11-day gauntlet may have exacerbated any issues they were having as they barely had time to hold a real practice while balancing recovery and travel time.
Talk is one thing, and action is another. It remains to be seen what Tomlin meant when he said they would be making necessary changes. In terms of personnel, there aren’t a ton of tweaks available to be made. They could start with getting Beanie Bishop Jr., who received zero defensive snaps on Wednesday, involved back into the defense. More than likely the changes are going to be schematic or situational, which will be much harder to gauge.
