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Takeaways, analysis, and overreactions from yet another Steelers playoff loss.
The Steelers season ends with five straight losses. After falling 28-14 to the Baltimore Ravens in the first round of the playoffs, there are plenty of takeaways to be had.
1. Drastic changes are needed
Following Saturday’s game, the internet is full of the annual tradition of post-brutal-playoff-loss hot takes. But when those awful playoff losses happen regularly enough to result in that yearly outburst, maybe the reactions have some merit.
As someone who has long been against the idea of the Steelers moving on from head coach Mike Tomlin, I’m more open than ever to that discussion following Saturday’s uninspired loss. It’s yet another postseason letdown for a team that hasn’t won in the playoffs since the 2016-17 season — and every playoff game since that season has featured the Steelers trailing by multiple scores at halftime.
Tomlin has been the common denominator.
Playoff success can be a trivial metric to judge any player or coaches’ entire body of work by, but after a now eighth-straight season without a win, or a competitive game, in the postseason, the ineptitude is hard to ignore.
But firing Tomlin — which the Steelers almost certainly won’t — still doesn’t fix much. Ben Johnson is great and all, but would he be doing much better with the team that we’ve seen over the last few weeks? Pittsburgh’s quarterback woes won’t be easily solved with a new coach. That isn’t to poo-pooh any of the many legitimate gripes with Tomlin right now, but to show that there’s more than one problem on the Steelers that needs fixing.
Pittsburgh’s offense and defense have both been largely horrible for over a month. The play-calling from coordinators and player development from positional coaches has been subpar. Those problems have been repeated enough to result in “fire everyone” rants ending almost every season in recent memory.
To say that Pittsburgh hasn’t mixed it up at all over the playoff win-less streak would be somewhat disingenuous. Even recently, the team uncharacteristically fired offensive coordinator Matt Canada in-season and bailed on the failing development of Kenny Pickett after just two years. Under new general manager Omar Khan, the Steelers have generally been much more aggressive in their roster-building approach. But the endings of the team’s last several seasons have all been nearly identical.
As a result, even more change is needed. And it needs to be even more drastic — not just firing Teryl Austin to appease the masses and then running it back with a similar roster and scheme. Maybe Tomlin needs to go. Maybe some defensive superstars need to be traded. Maybe the front office needs to go all-out to get a big name at quarterback this offseason (it’s not a great class but it’s worth a look).
Pittsburgh just can’t afford to play it safe after years of the same end result — the roster needs an overhaul or the coaching staff needs an overhaul. Possibly both.
2. The Steelers lost their pride
The Steelers didn’t play well, but it was underlined, bolded, and italicized by how little energy there was behind that performance. It’s one thing to get outplayed. It’s entirely another to give up a touchdown after 13 straight runs without any sort of pushback on defense.
Body language was horrible across the board. Tackling rarely resulted in a Baltimore runner going backwards, and the interior defensive line was consistently bullied all game. The offense finally sparked some life into the Steelers during the second half and the defense responded by allowing a 44-yard Derrick Henry touchdown.
Play-calling didn’t inspire much confidence either, with Pittsburgh opening the game with three straight fourth-and-think-about-it plays that ended in a punt every time, all but broadcasting an (understandable) lack of trust in the offense. Somehow, the Ravens ended the game up two scores while the Steelers still had all three timeouts in their pocket.
The most worrying part is how the Steelers continued their late-season trend of starting slow and finishing even worse in important games.
Nothing about the team’s performance, in any aspect of the game, showed much want-to or confidence. That’s a problem, and in a win-or-go-home game against a hated divisional rival, it’s a catastrophe. The Steelers didn’t just lose — they were embarrassed.
3. Odds and ends
- I don’t believe that firing Teryl Austin is a fix-all by any means, but he does need to go after this season. The Ravens’ play-calling wasn’t anything absurdly unpredictable on Saturday — there were plenty of moments where it was obvious if Baltimore was going to run or pass it, but the Steelers didn’t have any answers. Lamar Jackson threw for 175 yards and two touchdowns on just 21 attempts. Derrick Henry and Jackson combined for 267 rushing yards and 6.5 per carry.
- How missed assignments and general confusion are still issues on this defense during the last game of the season, and against an offense the Steelers know very well at this point, is incredibly disappointing.
- The way Kirk Herbstreit was talking about Russell Wilson for much of the game, you’d think that the Steelers’ veteran, Super Bowl-winning quarterback was still a rookie. The thing is, Herbstreit’s critiques were spot on. Recently, Wilson can’t get anything done in the pocket if his first read isn’t there. He had a few nice “moon balls” at the midpoint of the game, but it couldn’t be more obvious that the Steelers need a new passer next season.
- Isaiah Likely is faster than the average tight end, but the amount of separation he was able to get against Cam Sutton, a cornerback, was unacceptable. Slot corner is a huge need this offseason, but Beanie Bishop Jr. also should’ve seen far more playing time late this season.
- Cam Heyward was the only Steeler defensive lineman to make consistent plays against the Ravens, all while playing injured. George Pickens had some excellent catches that will be forgotten with the loss. It’s a shame that those performances will go to waste.
- Calvin Austin III’s toughness, highlighted by a clutch third-down conversion where he held onto the ball despite a big hit in the middle of the field, has been one of the bright spots of the Steelers’ offense this season. Austin may not ever be the solution to the team’s receiver woes, but he’s a great player to have in the room.
- Payton Wilson had a couple of standout plays showing off his athleticism, including stopping Lamar Jackson on a short yardage read option. Wilson has had his fair share of ups and downs over his rookie season, but the future is looking up for the talented linebacker.
- If this is it for Najee Harris and Russell Wilson in Pittsburgh, their effort and professionalism during their time as Steelers should not go unappreciated.
- The Steelers’ trajectory isn’t looking up for a number of reasons, but I remain cautiously optimistic about the offensive line. It certainly won’t be perfect next year, but the number of injuries Pittsburgh endured with this unit was absurd this year. Healthier and more experienced next season, we could finally see a step in the right direction for the O-line. The team has poured plenty of resources into it under Omar Khan.
- The last two Steelers-Ravens games have now been on Fox or Amazon Prime. What has happened to the game I love.
There’s not much more to add — while this loss served as the go-ahead to a lot of pent-up frustrations regarding the Steelers, the problems we saw on Saturday are the same ones that have plagued the team over the last month. It’s a dismal way to end the season. That being said, thanks for reading along for the past several months. Onward to draft season!
What are your takeaways from Steelers vs. Ravens? Agree/disagree with the ones above?Join our Behind The Steel Curtain community and let us know in the comments!