3 things we learned from Steelers loss against the Kansas City Chiefs

The Steelers defense had no answers for the Kansas City Chiefs offense

Let’s face facts, the Steelers defense was completely embarrassed by the Chiefs offense.  Yes, we were put on a short field at times because of turnovers, but to give up thirty-six points in a game that had playoff implications is inexcusable.

Whether it’s the scheme or the personnel or both, the Steelers defense is doing its best impression of ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’.  How can we shut out an opponent in the second half one week and not be able to stop an opponent at all the next week?

For decades, the Steelers had been known for having a staunch defense.  This season, the Steelers defense is known for not being able to stop the run and against some opponents, not being able to stop the pass either.

The confluence of those two factors lead to what we witnessed against the Chiefs, which was a truly disappointing game that could have sealed our playoff fate.  I hope that will not be the case, but with two games left in the 2021 season, another conference loss is not ‘what the doctor ordered’.

I realize that it would have a tall order to beat the Chiefs on the road, but this is ‘crunch time’.  This is the time where we need to win road games against good teams and we did not accomplish that goal against the Chiefs.

Let’s see what else we learned.

The Steelers played uninspired football against the Chiefs

As I have stated numerous times in our discussions, I am a Mike Tomlin supporter; however, it is becoming increasingly more difficult to support not getting up for a big game against an AFC opponent, not getting out to a fast start on offense, and not playing well on defense.

Look, I realize that every team has a bad game here and there, but this season has seen us play one bad game after another.  We may have played ourselves out of a playoff spot as a result of how poorly we played against the Chiefs.

Again, I hope that is not the case, but I can’t help but think that the lackluster performance we witnessed today proves that the Steelers, as we are currently constructed, just are not good enough to sustain success.

Every team is dealing with injuries and we are no exception; however, some of the players we are trotting out on the field are simply not good enough to be competitive and that falls on Tomlin.  What also falls on Tomlin is the seeming inability to ‘think outside of the box’.

The scheme on offense is terrible and some of the personnel we have on defense are practice squad players for a reason.  When you have a future Hall of Fame QB, why not let him call the plays when we’re down multiple scores, why are we continuing to try to run the ball and why do we not have a semblance of a vertical passing game?

Defensively, why do we call the same plays with our backups on the field and expect different results?  I guess it’s just me being frustrated with the lack of cohesion and the seeming lack of effort.