We all knew that the Pittsburgh Steelers were heavy underdogs heading into their Wild Card matchup on the road against the Buffalo Bills. Without their best player and with several glaring roster holes, it was a tough ask for Mike Tomlin's team to knock out one of the hottest teams in the league right now.
Things went about as well as many of us thought they would. Pittsburgh dug themselves a 21-0 hole to begin the game, and it could have been worse if not for a blocked field goal attempt in the first half. Despite fighting back and getting within one score in the fourth quarter, the Steelers didn't have enough juice on defense to get the Bills off the field.
As a result, the Steelers were sent packing in a 31-17 playoff loss. We will soon shift our focus to full offseason mode, but before we do that, here are my biggest takeaways from Pittsburgh's Wild Card loss against the Buffalo Bills.
The officiating in the Steelers vs. Bills game was horrible
Whether you were a fan of one of these two teams or just a spectator hoping to see good playoff football, nobody could have been pleased with the officiating during this AFC Wild Card matchup. There were several blatant missed calls that the refs simply ignored, while the officiating did not seem consistent for both teams.
For example, late in the game, Myles Jack was called for illegal contact despite getting his head turned around in coverage and attempting to play the football. Shortly after, Steelers WR George Pickens was mugged on a pivotal fourth down conversion attempt and there was no flag.
Fans were also outraged when Bills OG Connor McGovern speared Joey Porter Jr. in the back while the Steelers CB was attempting to make a tackle. This dirty hit (that wasn't penalized) forced Porter to leave the game with a concussion, and he did not return.
There were some things that went Pittsburgh's way as well (like a questionable fumble ruling involving Pat Freiermuth). But for the most part, the officiating was awful and did not favor the Steelers. This game was going to be hard enough without worrying about overcoming inconsistent calls from the refs.