Well that was a tough one. The Steelers lost to the Chiefs. It just did not come together. There were a number of issues. Landry Jones did fine but he had a handful of mistakes. The offense couldn’t convert on third down. The defense was pretty much torn apart. And those missed tackles finally caught up to the Steelers.
Next week Ben is back. Hopefully we’ll get the defense back too. It’s an exciting game next week. The Bengals in Pittburgh, bumblebee uniforms and all. No need to dwell on last week anymore.
That being said, let’s dwell on last week a little more.
Landry Jones
Landry Jones did ok. He’s a capable backup, but a loss is a loss and an interception is an interception and a fumble is a fumble. It is what it is. He’s proven to be a capable backup, which is more than we could have known prior to the season. He admirably was hard on himself, but he’s earned the number 2 job.
Mike Tomlin said, according to Mark Kaboly of TribLive.com, of the decision to play Jones, “No second guessing. It was close, but in the end, we decided to go with the guys who had the practice reps. That was the appropriate thing to do. We will move forward with Ben as we prepare this week.”
Jones said of himself, “I felt pretty comfortable out there. I have to make more plays out there. I can’t turn the ball over, there were so many opportunities that I could out there and win that game. I threw two picks, fumbled one. You can’t win when you play like that.”
The Defense
So the defense did pretty poorly. They only had two sacks against one of the weakest offensive lines in the league. They were torn up in the air and on the ground. All year long the Steelers have been missing tackles. It really hurt this time around.
The Steelers defense relies on those “splash plays.” They rely on them because they can’t do much else. I know, that’s harsh, especially with the defense improving, but if you can’t tackle then you can’t have a great defense.
According to Ralph N. Paulk of Triblive.com, Jarvis Jones said after returning from injury, referring to the missed tackles, “I wish we could have those back. It would have definitely taken away some of those big plays that they had. We’ve got to take a look at the film, and make the corrections and focus on Cincinnati next week.”
Mike Mitchell added, “I think for the most part, we’ve been solid tackling teams. They were able to squirm through some today.”
Basically the whole team piled on, on themselves.
Heyward said, “But they ran the ball effectively because of missed tackles. We can’t go up and down on a roller coaster. If not, (missed tackles) will be our Achilles’ heel all year.”
Timmons said, “We kinda slacked off today. We definitely have to pick it up next week. We have to wrap up and drive our feet more. We have to rally to the ball better. We have to be like bees — always stinging.”
Robert Golden said, “Missed tackles always hurt. That’s something we can control.”
Alejandro Villanueva
Alejandro Villanueva got his first start last game. He got it in his first season really. It was difficult to expect him to just emerge as an All-Pro in his first game. He did admirably but made a couple key mistakes. He might have a bright future but he has to improve.
According to Ron Cook of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Villanueva said, “I let my team down. I’ve got to play better. It’s unacceptable that I get beat twice in the fourth quarter when the game is on the line.”
Overall, the Steelers just didn’t do enough to win. But at 4-3 they’re in a decent position as far as the playoffs are concerned. On to week 8, Bengals and bumblebees.
Next: Steelers: Ben Roethlisberger to return?
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