This is not a slow start by the Pittsburgh Steelers

The clock struck zero and the Pittsburgh Steelers fell to 0-1-1 in what is turning into a frightful season.

No one saw a come back happening 10 minutes into the opening quarter, but when it started, it felt natural. “The Pittsburgh Steelers start the season slow once again,” would ring throughout the headlines as they improved to 1-0-1.

We’ve seen it before. None of this was something to be worrisome of, as they simply needed a kickstart to get going. Ben Roethlisberger played three series in seven months, prior to the regular season. The defense dealt with injuries throughout the summer, and Le’Veon Bell was blasted into the players all offseason.

None of it was going to drag into the season. And none of it has.

Five minutes left in the fourth quarter and you began to come back to reality. The realization of Pittsburgh not being as good as their expectations hit quickly, as too many issues started to become worse.

The Pittsburgh Steelers aren’t off to a slow start, they have problems that need to be addressed. Immediately.

Say what you want about Ben Roethlisberger’s performance, it was as good as you can ask for. You can’t expect perfection when you ask for 60 passes. 452 yards and three touchdowns and 37 points should lead to a win more times than not.

It’s also not James Conner. Le’Veon Bell is not needed on this offense in any significant form. Conner provides a quality runner, who’s been reliable in pass blocking and from what Sunday showed, has improved on his receiving skills. He’s the future and has earned his reps moving forward. A number that should be higher than eight.

The clear and most lethal issue is the defense. From coverage to pass rush to run defense, this unit has not been there. It’s already proving to be something that, if not corrected, is going to drag them down.

It starts with the play calling. Maybe it’s not time to jump on the fire Keith Butler bandwagon, but it is time to hold him accountable. The talent isn’t excellent, but there are enough pieces to tape together something better than 42 points and six passing touchdowns.

For starters, the pass rush was nonexistent. Week 1, T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree are mad men rushing the quarterback. Week 2, no serious pressure off the side. You can’t expect to slow down a quarterback this hot with an injured secondary, there needs to be pressure.

Stephon Tuitt and Cameron Heyward were off and on with their success getting to Patrick Mahomes. It was evident from the start, and should’ve have been corrected by halftime. But nothing, leaving fans questioning decisions, once again.

It’s more than on the field decisions, though. Some of this stoops as low as fundamentals. Time and time again, throughout the preseason, and today, we watched as tackles were missed. Sammy Watkins started the beginning to the end by basically walking through Mike Hilton.

Early in the offseason, James Harrison labeled the biggest problem within the defense as miscommunication. The addition of Morgan Burnett and added years to T.J. Watt, Sean Davis and Artie Burns, it was somewhat assumed that it was just going to be solved. It’s not.

It started with Hilton and Burnett not covering the middle of the field, Terrell Edmunds missing a tackle, and it never stopped. Pittsburgh is not ready for the regular season, and that responsibility begins with the coaching staff.

These need to be corrected. Two weeks into the season is not a time to panic, but it is a time to adjust. Butler needs to take advantage of how early it is in the season, use this time to fix this defense, and hope there’s enough to put Pittsburgh back on track.

This team is already two games into the AFC title race, and the start is not helping their chances. They’re not going to catch up without making the proper corrections. We witnessed the potential in Week 1. There’s confidence this can be solved. All of which starts with the coaching.