In today’s what-have-you-done-for-me-lately NFL, things are not looking good for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
They’ve lost three of their last four under head coach Mike Tomlin and are coming off of a beatdown at the hands of the Los Angeles Chargers last Sunday night on the West Coast.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers had his worst performance of the season, the offense couldn’t execute simple things within the scheme, receivers couldn’t get open, and the offensive line couldn’t pass protect.
Though the defense was good early, it wore down late and couldn’t stop the run in the second half. Now, the Steelers are 5-4 and entering another tough stretch of games.
For ESPN’s Dan Graziano, the panic meter for the Steelers is as high as it possibly could be.
“[It’s a] 10. But look, don’t be offended. I just don’t think they’re very good,” Graziano said of the Steelers, according to video via ESPN’s Get Up Friday morning. “I understand they’re 5-4. They’ve lost three of their last four. They looked awful offensively against the Chargers on Sunday night. Aaron Rodgers looked old.
“I think this is a limited-ceiling offense with a bunch of tight ends and an old quarterback, and it’s a defense that’s a lot worse than people are used to [seeing].”
Well, other than that, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln?
Graziano has been largely out on the Steelers since the start of the offseason, criticizing them every chance he gets, especially for the decision made at quarterback with Rodgers. He was awfully quiet early in the season with Rodgers playing well and the Steelers rolling right along, but the minute they hit a bump in the road and experience some trouble, he’s firing from both hips.
The Steelers are struggling right now, that much is true. You can’t sugarcoat losing three of the last four games, and doing so in the fashion that they did against the Cincinnati Bengals, Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Chargers. That said, you also can’t just gloss over the win over the Indianapolis Colts, arguably the best team in the league.
It’s an up-and-down season, for sure, for the Steelers. Especially right now. But they have an opportunity to right the ship — at least for one week — against a familiar opponent in the Bengals. Granted, the Steelers lost the first matchup to the Bengals, allowing Joe Flacco to carve up their secondary.
But entering the Week 11 matchup against Cincinnati, the Steelers believe they’re much more stable in the secondary with Jalen Ramsey moved to safety and Kyle Dugger in the lineup after being acquired via trade. We’ll see if that’s the case against the high-powered Bengals passing attack.
All eyes will be on the offense though, especially after its dreadful performance against Los Angeles. If the Steelers follow up that clunker with another rough one, maybe the hand gets closer to the panic button. But you can’t ride the emotional wave in the NFL like Graziano is doing currently.
Recommended for you