Pittsburgh Steelers: 5 things we learned in loss to Chiefs

The Pittsburgh Steelers fell to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday in a close game. These are the 5 things we learned from the loss.

The Steelers played a strong Chiefs squad in Pittsburgh Sunday afternoon. After falling behind by three touchdowns the Steelers came back and tied it up by halftime. They fell behind again after the half. Though they once again rallied, they didn’t have enough and lost 42-37.

Here’s what we learned from the game:

The Le’Veon Bell Situation Might Ruin the Season

We can, and we will below, go over a number of problems that lead to the Steelers starting 0-1-1. Unfortunately, we can’t blame Todd Haley anymore. We chased him out of town, to Cleveland, where he put together an offense that tied us. We can still blame Roethlisberger, but not today. Some Steelers fans are ready to call for Tomlin’s firing if they stub their toe or the sun goes down.

But the reason the Steelers have started far more poorly than they should have is primarily the Le’Veon Bell contract situation. The Steelers front office certainly deserve some blame. But ultimately, Le’Veon Bell is tanking the season.

He’s not doing it on accident. That is his goal. Le’Veon Bell and his agent have set up a situation where, in their minds, the worse the Steelers do, the better off Le’Veon Bell is. The subtraction of Bell’s skills is harmful, but Bell has spent much of his career injured or suspended for drug use. They’ve succeeded without him before. It’s the addition of the drama and uncertainty that has infected the team. It’s a dark cloud. They need a psychological umbrella.