Steelers fans are livid... and I can attest. From start to finish, this was one of the very worst performances I have ever witnessed from the Pittsburgh Steelers. After putting up a goose egg in the first half and trailing 16-0 at halftime, we thought that Mike Tomlin would at least make enough adjustments to make this competitive.
Sadly, that wasn't the case. Despite missing a plethora of offensive linemen, C.J. Stroud and the Texans just poured it on a porous Steelers defense. Instead of climbing back into this contest, the Steelers were humiliated just as badly in the second half.
By the end of the game, Pittsburgh hung their heads in a 30-6 blowout loss -- slightly worse than the humiliating defeat they suffered against the San Francisco 49ers back in Week 1.
To make matters worse, Kenny Pickett injured his left knee in the third quarter after being sacked and did not return to the game.
This is the second time in four games that Mike Tomlin's squad has been humiliated in the first month of the season. The game was an even bigger blowout than the score would indicate, as Pittsburgh put up just 225 yards compared to 451 for the Texans this week, per ESPN stats.
Steelers need to start firing coaches, beggining with Matt Canada
One disgusting blowout early in the season is enough. But what we just saw was some of the most sluggish football you will ever see against a 1-2 Houston Texans team led by a rookie quarterback, it's time for Steelers coaches to start losing their job.
The criticism should start all the way at the top with head coach Mike Tomlin. Though Tomlin will probably only ever leave on his own terms, he doesn't get enough criticism for hiring the lackluster coaching staff that he does today. This is not the standard.
One coach who needs to be shipped out the door tomorrow is Matt Canada. The Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator has now scored 12 offensive points or fewer in 3 of 4 games this season, and putting up just 6 against the Texans is utterly inexcusable. Canada's offense averaged just over 17 points per game last season if you take away defensive touchdowns, and he's somehow even worse this year despite the investments this team has made on offense.
Teryl Austin shouldn't escape Week 4 without criticism either. His game plan against C.J. Stroud and the Texans depleted offense was disgusting. They let a rookie quarterback shred this defense in his fourth-ever NFL game, and receivers were wide-open all afternoon.
Mike Tomlin and his team deserve every bit of criticism they get at this point, and they should be embarrassed to show their faces after this abysmal loss to the Texans. Things must turn around quickly for the Pittsburgh Steelers or the fanbase is going to turn on them very soon. It's time for serious change.