The Pittsburgh Steelers were once considered to have one of the better coaching staffs in the league. Here’s why they have not performed to expectations.
Steelers fans everywhere woke up Monday morning still racking their brains of what happened in week 3. Though Pittsburgh forced five turnovers against the 49ers, they traveled back home without a win.
There is obviously plenty of blame to pass around, and there should be a number of players on both sides of the ball who are held accountable for the result on Sunday. However, the coaching staff wasn’t doing their players any favors.
Offensively, Randy Fichtner was the king of conservative plays in the first half. In an effort to ease Mason Rudolph into his first NFL start, Fichtner called a number of predictable runs and screen passes.
This, however, proved to be fruitless. Despite the defense continually putting the offense in position to score, Randy Fichtner’s unit couldn’t move more than a few yards at a time. Because of this, the Steelers were forced to punt the ball four times in the first half, and they settled for field goals on the two turnovers that put them in enemy territory.
On the defensive side of the ball, Pittsburgh defenders were making heads up plays. T.J Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick both had interceptions off tipped passes, and they recovered three fumbles.
However, defensive coordinator Keith Bulter made some head-scratching calls. He sent Minkah Fitzpatrick on free safety blitzes at inopportune times, and he had no answer against the run in the second half.
Despite all of the investments on defense, they have yet to pan out. The Steelers are giving up 28.3 points per game through three weeks – good for 28th in the NFL.
Bill Belichick > Mike Tomlin
— Tommy Jaggi (@TommyJaggi) September 23, 2019
Pete Carroll > Mike Tomlin
Kyle Shanahan > Mike Tomlin #Steelers are 0-3. That's really all you need to know.
Mike Tomlin’s team has now been outcoached and outplayed in each of the first three weeks of the season, and he continues to make very few in-game adjustments.
Let’s not kid ourselves: the Steelers aren’t the most talented team in the league at this point. There are major question marks at positions like receiver, linebacker, and (most importantly) quarterback.
At the same time, there is certainly enough talent on this team to win a game against the 49ers where the Steelers are plus three in turnover differential. The coaching staff needs to get their act together quickly. Pittsburgh has a massive uphill battle, and they need to be near perfect from here on out.