Game Notes
- Starting with two passes to begin the second half was surprising. I'm assuming Aaron Rodgers saw the Green Bay Packers loaded with a big defensive package to defend the run better and opted to counter with passes after the Steelers had rushed for over 90 yards in the first half. The Steelers went three-and-out, and the Packers dictated tempo after the Steelers had set the tempo in the first half.
- The fourth quarter started the same way, with Rodgers dropping back, getting behind the chains, and further sealing the game's outcome.
- The cherry on top was DK Metcalf's 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty. The irony is the Steelers traded for him to replace the immaturity of former Steelers receiver and now Dallas Cowboy, George Pickens. Metcalf was baited into an altercation, caught, and penalized while doing so, and a third-and-2 turned into a third-and-17, which, of course, was not executed.
- I did, however, execute turning my TV off. I'd had it.
Coming to Terms
- I'm coming to terms with the fact that the Pittsburgh Steelers may not be a Super Bowl contender this year. Not that I thought they would, but the offseason acquisitions weren't made to win a playoff game. It was to win it all. They traded for and acquired talent with thoughtfulness and uncommon assertiveness. They proceeded with the full expectation to compete for a championship against the odds associated with a team transitioning and led by a Hall of Fame quarterback well beyond his prime. I'm disappointed with the outcome so far, but I admire the relentless pursuit, as do TJ Watt and Cam Heyward, who had the misfortune of being great during not-so-great times. The opposite is what you're seeing in the Cleveland Browns, Myles Garrett, who has no chance of experiencing a winning regular season record and is beside himself.
It's a model that has worked previously, both in Denver when John Elway won back-to-back Super Bowls with the Broncos in 1998 and 1999, his 15th and 16th years in the league. The more comparable models are the Broncos' Super Bowl win in 2016, with Peyton Manning in his 18th year, and Tom rady at 40 years old in 2018 with the New England Patriots, and in 2021 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
That's the extent of it. This method of championship chasing doesn't have precedence or results on its side. I'm still a buyer of it, though.
- Through sheer love and devotion, rarely do we as fans easily come to the reality that the team they root for and cherish isn't as good as they initially thought or hoped to be. We develop beliefs, then criticize the team for not meeting our expectations.
I'm fine with criticism, but I also acknowledge that the Steelers may not be as good as we thought they would be. It's not easy to move from a position that one is invested in, but Sunday night's game leaves me no choice but to consider the possibility.
- How did I get here? History. The word has a special application today, which we'll get into later. But historically, Steelers teams that lose to inferior opponents — perceived or otherwise — more frequently than not rebound to avenge the loss the following week. Last week, I thought the Steelers couldn't match the energy the Bengals found in desperation, which led to self-belief, then to confidence, and finally to a Bengals win.
But the Steelers have a long history of emotional readiness for prime-time home games. What I'm saying here is that I believe they were emotionally engaged, had the energy and spirit to prevail, and yet were outexecuted, outcoached, and outplayed. So, what's going on here?
Defensive Problems
Problem #1 - The acquired talent, invested in and counted on the most, is on defense, and their modest success has only come against quarterbacks who are ordinary at best, minus Drake Maye, who, ironically, happens to be the highest-ranked quarterback the Steelers have played, ranked fifth on the NFL.com quarterback index.
The Steelers have lost to the Seattle Seahawks and Sam Darnold (#7), the Packers and Jordan Love (#10), and a resurgent Cincinnati Bengals quarterback, Joe Flacco. Meanwhile, they won against Minnesota's Carson Wentz (#27), Cleveland's Dillon Gabriel (#28), and New York's Justin Fields (#31), along with Maye, who played very well that day but couldn't overcome the Patriots turnovers. No time is left to gel and build chemistry. December football, as Mike Tomlin puts it, is five weeks away.
Problem #2 - The Steelers' defense may be limited in its upside, as Darius Slay, Juan Thornhill, Chuck Clark, and Jalen Ramsey are all on the wrong side of 30 years old, and the performance trajectory that comes with it. So, what we're seeing is what we'll be getting, especially given the quality of quarterbacks and teams scheduled in the second half of the season.
- If the Steelers had a top-five defense, would their search for a receiver have the urgency it appears to have? I think the Steelers recognize their options to improve the defense have passed—not to mention that it's fiscally questionable, given the total cost of their defense investment, which hasn't yielded the expected returns against top-tier offenses. The Steelers' outlay was specifically purchased to, at best, disarm and, at worst, neutralize top-tier NFL passing units.
- Darius Slade is starting to look like cornerback Donnell Woolford, a Steelers free agent signing in 1997 to replace Rod Woodson, who had signed with the San Francisco 49ers. Woolford, who previously had a solid career with the Bears, aged rapidly and was demoted midseason, and eventually released after the season. I vividly remember the stop-and-go route run by an opposing receiver, which exposed Wolford and allowed Bill Cowher and staff to cut their losses.
- You have to know your blind spots. One of the most glaring is Tomlin's evaluation of cornerbacks. As a defensive backfield assistant coach with the Buccaneers and previous college stops, he probably thinks he has unique insight into defensive backfield valuation. Still, the track record says otherwise, both in draftees and free agent signings, but draftees especially.
Historic Defense
- I can't let this go. In training camp, I recall a Steeler saying the defense could be historic. I winced hearing it. Whoever uttered the words was full of themselves and got caught up in the moment. Tomlin then reinforced the comment.
I've shied from acknowledging the statement, as it was low-hanging fruit and unworthy of real football talk. But I'm calling it out for the sheer irony of how the words have come back to haunt the perpetrator, who uttered such nonsense, on the verge of Halloween, no less.
Two months later ...
Let's start with the irony of using the word historic. Lots of adjectives and phrases could have been used, but "historic" was the winner.
Packers quarterback Jordan Love's 20 consecutive pass completions tied a 106-year-old Packer franchise record and were the most consecutive completions by an opposing quarterback in the Steelers' 92-year history.
The 16 catches made the previous week, by Bengals receiver Ja'Marr Chase, set a 57-year old Bengals franchise record for catches in a single game by a receiver and were the most catches by an individual opponent against a Steelers defense in its 92-year history.
Currently, the defense is ranked 30th, yielding 386 yards per game over seven games. According to my research, the lowest Steelers defensive ranking was 28th in 1988, so historically, this unit is on pace to set a Steelers historic low.
When I first heard about the so-called historic defense, I immediately thought of former Oklahoma Sooner basketball coach Billy Tubbs, who, when asked about the then-upcoming release of an autobiography by Oklahoma Sooner linebacker Brian Bosworth in the late 1980s. Tubbs responded sarcastically, "I don't think Bosworth is in a position to write a book about himself. You've got to do something first before you can write a book." Tubbs said it while grinning, but serious nonetheless.
See where I'm going with this?
- Is the defensive scheme a fit for the defensive backfield talent even in their twilight years? I'm asking because we've seen better defensive backfield play when the Steelers had no talent at cornerback, let alone two very capable cornerbacks, Ramsey and Joey Porter Jr.. I'm wondering if the Steelers are so accustomed to playing with average-to-below-average cornerbacks that they aren't scheming to the talent of the players they have. Yes, I'm grasping for straws, but that doesn't mean there's not something to it.
- The Steelers have perhaps the fastest inside linebacker in the league in Payton Wilson, and yet, I never saw him in the televised frame trying to cover the Packers' tight end, who looked like the second coming. I realize it's a simplistic way of looking at it, but that's where my mind is today.
The Offense
- Most thought that if the offense could statistically fall somewhere around the middle of the league average, the defense could make up for its deficiencies. It's the other way around, and the need is now changed for the offense to be very good instead of good. I'm not sure if they're capable of being very good, but it's getting better each game, and it's fair to say it's slightly better than expected at this stage.
- I would've preferred that the Steelers forced the Packers to stop the run, but the Steelers did it for them. If Rodgers' audibled out of more runs, I'm okay with it.
- It's been a while since the Steelers have had two backs with different, but complementary skill sets and running styles.
- Nice to see Roman Wilson contribute, considering the rust shown by Calvin Austin.
- The Packers' Love is what a championship-capable quarterback looks like. They make a high percentage of routine plays and two or three plays that only the top 10 quarterbacks in the world pull off. Love made at least two.
- The Steelers know this, and it's why they're preparing to do what's necessary to pick a similar type in the 2026 NFL Draft.
- On that quarterback subject, Kudos to Wex for bringing my attention to Oregon QB, Dante Moore.
- The Packers playbook was very similar to the Bengals', so, after eight quarters, the Steelers have yet to find an answer while giving up 702 passing yards and quarterbacks are averaging a 105.5 rating. One could say it was over seven quarters since the Bengals had two short drives in the first quarter of the Steelers game. So, we're talking 100 yards per quarter.
The Magic
- I referred to magic in the opening bullet point above and will close with it.
I'll never let go of the Steelers' possibilities after watching their season unfold on the way to their fifth Super Bowl during the 2005-2006 season. The stars aligned, fate prevailed, and a Super Bowl trophy was added to the Steelers' trophy case.
That's how it happened 20 years ago, after losing three straight games and falling to 7-5 on December 4, 2005, following a bad Bengals loss. I declared them dead, with no chance of recovery. I recall feeling angry but also relieved, as I sometimes do when I'm forced to decrease my expectations from possible to none.
The following week, symbolically and literally, the Steelers ran over the Bears, just as Jerome Bettis ran over Brian Urlacher in the snow for the touchdown at Heinz Field, winning and never losing another game. I can think of several Steelers teams that were more talented and better overall than that one, but the stars didn't align.
I can't deny that this is a possibility for this year. Is it likely? No. Possible? Absolutely yes.
Aaron Rodgers (right) passing the torch to Jordan Love (Photo: Barry Reeger, USA TODAY Sports)