The Pittsburgh Steelers got a golden opportunity to prove they could hang with the big dogs. After a depressing Thursday Night Football loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Mike Tomlin had ten days to prepare his team to face the Green Bay Packers at home on Sunday Night Football. Sadly, Pittsburgh botched its first real test of the season as a contender.
In the second half against Green Bay, the Steelers completely fell apart. Pittsburgh lost all control of the game as its offense stalled and the defense gave up 28 second-half points. There's no excuse for this.
By the end of the game, Tomlin's team allowed 454 total yards to the Packers while the defense gave up 360 passing yards on 9.7 yards per attempt to quarterback Jordan Love. The Steelers were outpaced in yardage, first downs, third down conversions, yards per play, total plays, and time of possession.
Not a single statistic in this contest suggested the Steelers deserved so much as a shot to emerge victorious... and nothing about their pitiful performance in Week 8 suggested otherwise.
The warning signs keep flashing, but somehow, Coach Tomlin seems to be the only one who doesn't see them. This is not a good football team, and adjustments aren't being made. It's time for accountability.
The Pittsburgh Steelers must hold Mike Tomlin accountable for ugly Week 8 loss to the Green Bay Packers
The Pittsburgh Steelers have the NFL's most expensive defense, but the defense is performing like one of the worst units in the league. Tomlin is supposed to be a defensive-minded head coach. Yet, Tomlin's influence hardly seems to help.
We can sit here and point the finger at the players for the lack of execution in Week 8—and there was certainly plenty of that. But at the end of the day, the same old problems keep resurfacing, and Tomlin needs to take accountability.
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Tomlin fell in love with the idea of signing Darius Slay in free agency. Tomlin chose to let Brian Flores walk during the 2023 offseason, when he could have promoted him to defensive coordinator and replaced Teryl Austin. And Tomlin values veteran experience—even when signs of aging are staring fans in the face.
Pittsburgh allowed Jordan Love to complete 29 of 37 targets while chipping in 3 touchdowns for a 134.2 passer rating. They allowed tight end Tucker Kraft to torch the defense for seven receptions, 143 yards, and two touchdowns (and on National Tight Ends Day, no less).
The Steelers have now allowed 30 or more points in four of their first seven games of the 2025 season. This is something that hasn't happened in over 20 years. With all of the investments this team made over the offseason, they still fail the test, and it's time to start blaming Mike Tomlin.