One isn’t likely to accuse the Pittsburgh Steelers of having the ideal formula for winning a Super Bowl. So much of the equation simply comes down to having the right variable at quarterback. Even in the late stages of Ben Roethlisberger’s career, they didn’t have that. They took a flier on Russell Wilson, and the results were fine, but quite likely not good enough.
“The style in which they play is not a way that we feel great about winning a championship”, former NFL DB Domonique Foxworth said on the Get Up program. “But they have to play that style because they are shorthanded. Their best offensive player is [George] Pickens, and he’s not someone you feel like you can rely on week in and week out”.
In other words, the Steelers are stuck cooking with subpar ingredients and hoping for the best. Mike Tomlin has certainly tried to put it all together. He has invested in running back, wide receiver, tight end, quarterback, and the offensive line. Through some misses, injury, and turnover, however, it has never come together.
So much of it, again, comes down to the quarterback position, and having the right answer. But even the best quarterback needs help. If Patrick Mahomes were playing behind this offensive line, he would have trouble, too. Russell Wilson perennially ranks high in causing his own pressure, but so does Mahomes. And the Steelers’ offensive line hasn’t helped bail him out.
Nor has the line been great at run blocking. Despite drafting two first-round tackles and a second-round center, and investing in free agency, the Steelers are still looking to put all the pieces together. Of course, they have two starters on IR right now in James Daniels and Troy Fautanu, so they deserve some grace on that one.
One thing the Steelers never did was adequately replace Diontae Johnson, even if trading him only increasingly has seemed like the right move. Even there, though, you have Roman Wilson spending nearly his entire rookie season injured.
And then there is the problem of the defense. The Steelers were supposed to run the ball, protect the football, and win with defense. They have done some of those things some of the time, and even at times more than one simultaneously. Rarely have they come even close to doing all three together.
And that’s the problem with the Steelers’ current model: it requires a high level of execution and consistency to work. Mike Tomlin knows it’s the only plan they have to work with right now. They simply don’t have the talent to do otherwise. But pulling it off when facing a higher level of competition, lately, has been too much to ask.
