No matter how you slice it, nothing in football — or life — is flawless. But that doesn’t mean the pursuit of improvement should stop. The Pittsburgh Steelers are a team familiar with that pursuit — the endless chase for excellence rather than perfection.
Sure, they’re a historic franchise with a cabinet full of accolades, but their recent performances have left fans feeling far from the glory days. A 25-10 beatdown under the Sunday night lights reminded everyone in Pittsburgh just how far this team has fallen from its once-great standard. It was the Steelers’ third primetime loss of the season, and quite frankly, their ugliest.
When the final whistle blew, no one in black and gold could hide from the results of a game they never showed up for. Dropped passes, overthrown balls, and an offense that couldn’t convert a third down sealed Mike Tomlin’s fate before the second half even began.
On Tuesday, the usually composed head coach met with reporters to discuss his plan for improvement. But this time, his message wasn’t much of one. Fans searching for answers were met with the kind of brief, cautious tone Tomlin reserves for moments when frustration outweighs solutions.
“For us, it wasn’t anything really earth-shattering, to be quite honest with you,” Tomlin said. “They did things schematically to make us distribute the ball elsewhere other than DK. I just think from a planning perspective, all of us involved — players and coaches — we didn’t do a good enough job positioning the others to be impactful, and the others didn’t make enough plays.”
The Pittsburgh Steelers need Mike Tomlin to figure out his team's problem quickly
In football language, this is a perfect quote.
It checks every box — accountability, composure, and a subtle challenge to his players. But beneath the polished delivery, it also reveals a hard truth: the Steelers don’t have “others.”
This season, Pat Freiermuth stands as the team’s second-leading receiver with 260 yards, barely half the production of DK Metcalf, who leads the group with 502. Behind them, Calvin Austin III (237) and Jaylen Warren (214) round out the next best contributors — numbers that highlight just how shallow the receiving corps has become.
READ MORE: Aaron Rodgers' meltdown threw gas on Steelers' lingering dumpster fire
The absence of a true secondary wideout has been glaring ever since George Pickens was traded. Instead of addressing the problem, the front office chose to patch it up with Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Jonnu Smith. Predictably, the result has been another disjointed offense struggling to find rhythm or consistency.
I hate to say it, but Tomlin’s Tuesday tone sounded like a man trying to convince himself as much as anyone else that things will get better. His approach to the season — disciplined, methodical, and rooted in accountability — sounds great on paper. But right now, it feels like the Steelers need more than structure. They need playmakers, creativity, and urgency.
For now, fans will have to settle for patience, even when the answers feel limited. Tomlin’s words may not have been “earth-shattering,” but the silence between them said plenty.