Less than 24 hours after the shocking Joey Porter Jr. trade, the Pittsburgh Steelers had a quick turnaround to play the Cleveland Browns on Thursday Night Football. It was clear that Pittsburgh should've been considered the underdogs since they appear cursed when they play in the city of Cleveland. Their losing record when it comes to contests in that town has only deteriorated after their 27-24 loss.
One thing that stood out for that AFC North clash, the Steelers are going to desperately miss Joey Porter Jr. this season.
They are holding onto hope that the trio of Jamel Dean, Asante Samuel Jr., or Daylen Everette will prove to be a worthy replacement. Well, that certainly didn't happen in their game against the Browns. Their secondary got shredded against a questionable foe who has yet to beat a proven team.
Pittsburgh is in an ugly spot right now, and most of the blame should fall on general manager Omar Khan's feet. The organization looks like complete fools for allowing the Porter situation to deteriorate to a point where the player felt a trade was necessary instead of playing out his rookie contract this season. The team is in shambles right now, and they will miss Porter dearly moving forward.
Pittsburgh Steelers' loss against the Browns shows that their Joey Porter Jr. trade was a failure
Everything seemed to go wrong for the Black and Gold on the road. They didn't seem prepared, and it allowed them to fall into a 21-7 deficit at halftime despite a terrific opening drive by their offense. There was constant yelling at one another on their sideline, and the Steelers looked discombobulated until the fourth quarter.
Their defense was perhaps the biggest disappointment of all.
Deshaun Watson and his receivers destroyed the Steelers' secondary throughout the game. He completed 24 of his 33 passes for a total of 268 passing yards and one touchdown. Those numbers might not seem significant, but they don't tell the full story of how easy it was for Watson to move the ball against Pittsburgh's defense. The Steelers seem to have no fix after trading away Joey Porter Jr.
The secondary is where most problems stemmed from, and it allowed Watson to look like a solid starter.
That is embarrassing in itself, but it's even worse when you know the Steelers could've had Joey Porter Jr. out there to help them if they didn't screw up that situation. Instead, they relied on a former second-round pick struggling to return to relevance, Asante Samuel Jr., and a rookie third-round pick, Daylen Everette.
To make matters worse, Jamel Dean has been battling a nagging ankle injury, which flared up in this game. Now the Steelers have no answer for replacing Porter, and their known veteran, Dean, is struggling to stay on the field. Pittsburgh lacks depth across their secondary, and things are looking bleak for their season ahead. This could get ugly for the foreseeable future if they're not careful.
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