The Steelers passing game failed to take off against the Patriots. Here’s why Donte Moncrief’s performance was one of the worst in recent memory.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have always been a team that prides themselves on terrific wide receiver play. Antonio Brown forced his way out of Pittsburgh this off-season, but the Steelers are still waiting for someone to step up and fill the void at the number two receiver position.
Since the early 2000’s, the Steelers have always had a solid number two option to help out in the passing game. Hines Ward had Plaxico Burress and later Santonio Holmes, Holmes had Mike Wallace, Wallace had Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown, Brown had JuJu Smith-Schuster. It has been this way for nearly 20 years.
However, after getting one good look at Donte Moncrief on Sunday night, we can tell that he isn’t going to be ‘that guy.’
Moncrief put up one of the most pathetic displays I have seen from a Steelers receiver in recent memory. Despite seeing a whopping 10 targets travel his direction, the seventh-year veteran was able to catch just 3 of them for a dismal 7 yards.
What’s worse is that nearly all of his targets were catchable. Moncrief was credited with 4 dropped balls on Sunday night – most of which hit him right between the numbers.
The Pittsburgh Steelers can ill afford to sit around and wait for things to get better on offense. Perhaps, there is a reason why Donte Moncrief is on his 3rd NFL team in as many years.
James Washington and Diontae Johnson didn’t have spectacular performances by any means against New England. However, they were much more efficient with their targets, and they made Moncrief look like a highschool wideout who isn’t good enough to play on the varsity team.
Pittsburgh needs to finds answers fast. They recently cut preseason star, Tuzar Skipper to make room for Johnny Holton on the depth chart. At this point, fans are wondering why they didn’t cut Moncrief instead.