12/19/21-The Black and Gold Are Still Alive
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By: Mike Pelaia
Steelers 19. Titans 13. That was the much-needed final score after a hard-fought contest between the men in black and gold and the AFC South leading Tennessee Titans. Tennessee could have moved into the number one seed in the AFC with a win but the Steelers defense held them in check and came up with the big plays when needed.
Without this win, the Steelers season would have been cooked. They needed the win and they played like it, specifically on the defensive side of the ball where big plays were made and big stops happened in crucial moments.
As great as TJ Watt was, on a day when he had 1.5 sacks and set a new single season franchise sack record, it was the return of Joe Haden that made the biggest impact. Haden, who had missed the last 4 games, came up with a big fumble recovery and the game winning stop on 4th down, preventing the Titans from getting a first and goal, by mere inches.
Haden’s return can’t be understated. This defense looked alive and matched the energy of the crowd in a playoff atmosphere. In a lot of ways, it was a playoff game for Pittsburgh who would have fallen below .500 and with only 3 games to go, facing a difficult climb out of the cellar of a crowded AFC North.
Instead, they now find themselves in the playoff mix and a possible division crown. They’ll need to win their last two games vs. Cleveland and at Baltimore to make that a reality but before that, they must fly to Kansas City to face the mighty Chiefs who are now on a roll and are the AFC’s top seed.
For the Steelers to win a second game in a row against a playoff bound team, they’ll have to step up the offensive output, more than they did against the Titans on this cold and dreary Pittsburgh afternoon.
Santa Claus is going to need to bring the Steelers a running attack. Moreso, he’s going to need to bring them an offensive line who can create holes for Najee Harris to run through. Harris posted a measly 18 yards on 12 carries against the Titans and that low output sits squarely on the offensive line. They get bullied off their blocks and don’t give Harris a moment to find a hole to attack.
Yet, the putrid offense is not just on the offensive line, Matt Canada, the Steelers Offensive Coordinator must stop being so predictable. He needs to allow his Hall of Fame quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger to play the style of football that he’s comfortable with and the offense will score far more than the 19 points they put up against Tennessee, if Canada can check his ego at the door.
Against Kansas City, they’re going to have to score over 25 points to really have a chance. They can do it if Canada doesn’t get in the way. The weapons are there. Diontae Johnson, Harris, Roethlisberger, hopefully Pat Friermuth comes back healthy, James Washington and Chase Claypool are all guys capable of making a splash play, if Canada either calls a play that allows for it or he allows Roethlisberger to draw it up himself.
Despite this big win against the Titans, it’s hard to believe Canada will change his ways. For the sake of the team, let’s all hope he does.
If Mike Tomlin and his offensive staff start to apply some of the learnings from the first 14 games, the Titans game included, they can take a little of the pressure off of Chris Boswell by putting up multiple touchdowns.
If they put up multiple touchdowns, the defense will play a little more relaxed and the blitz game becomes a significantly safer to execute and far more impactful.
The team has 99 problems, or more, but their biggest flaws that must be fixed by the time they land in Kansas City are game planning, stopping the run, making adjustments, running a putrid offense that’s predictable and stale and getting off the field on third downs.
How they’ll flip the script in Kansas City is yet to be seen but I don’t think they are good enough to do it.
They can win against Cleveland and Baltimore but I see a 33-20 loss coming the day after Christmas.
That all said, this team is alive, and with a little help from some friends, and winning their final two, they can make it into the dance in January.
And that’s all that matters at this point in the year.
12/14/21-Steelers Still Have Shot At Playoff Run
By: Mike Pelaia
Thirteen games into a seventeen game schedule and the Pittsburgh Steelers sit alone in last place in the AFC North with a 6-6-1 record. Despite that mediocre record and the fact the team is dead last, they still have a way to sneak into the playoffs, most likely as a division winner.
The Ravens, who sit at 8-5, atop the division currently, are starting to sink, ever since Pittsburgh beat them and it only gets harder for them as they have games remaining against the Packers, Bengals, Rams and then finish with the Steelers. Pittsburgh would have to win that last game in Baltimore and if they did, it’s not inconceivable for the Ravens to lose those other three, going 0-6 to finish their season. That would leave them with a final record of 8-9. Sounds crazy but it’s a realistic possibility.
The Browns, who are currently 7-6 and in second place, finish with the Raiders, Packers, Steelers and Bengals. Let’s again assume the Steelers win this one and the Browns go 2-1 in their other three, beating the Raiders and Bengals (which is no easy task), that leaves them at 9-8.
Cincinnati currently sits third in the AFC North at 7-6 and they are the team that I believe is truly the best in the division but they finish with the Broncos, Ravens, Chiefs and Browns. They could win all of those games but it’s not a hard sell to think they may go 2-2 down the stretch with that schedule, finishing at 9-8 as well.
That all brings us to the Steelers who don’t exactly have it easy and are far from a good team but they finish with the Titans, Chiefs, Browns and Ravens. I’ve already mentioned they need to beat the Browns and Ravens, which I think they can do and have done already this season, meaning if they can find a way to split with the Titans and Chiefs, most likely the Titans game at home, they will finish 3-1 down the stretch and 9-7-1 overall, winning the division by a half game and slipping into the number four seed.
With that all said, the Steelers have some serious issues and I think it would be hard to overcome a lot of those to go 3-1.
First and foremost, they have far too many injuries to overcome, Stephon Tuitt in all likelihood will not return this season, Tyson Alualu is out of the year, Joe Haden has missed significant time, TJ Watt has missed chunks of games despite is all world season, and Alex Highsmith has found himself sidelined as well. Haden, Watt and Highsmith all need to play the last four games. Without them, the team has no chance.
It’s not just injuries on the defense, however. Cam Heyward and Watt have been DPOY level players but the rest of the defense has been struggling. They rank 27th in overall defense allowing 231.8 passing yards per game and shockingly 139.5 rushing yards per game. These are unacceptable numbers for a unit that had expectations of being the best in the league coming into the season. Granted, it’s unrealistic to expect backups to play at the same level as starters but guys like Devin Bush need to step up. He’s not the only one but I’m singling him out because he’s been glaringly bad in both the run and pass game. The unit is talented enough to fix things and help make that 3-1 stretch a reality but it better start now.
Offensively, Ben Roethlisberger isn’t what he used to be but he’s far from the problem. The offensive line is young, inexperienced and unable to protect Ben or create the necessary blocks for rookie sensation Najee Harris to break off long runs. Matt Canada and his play calling is garbage. The sweeping changes that he was going to implement haven’t happened and while he may prefer motion and mobility from his quarterback, a good coach will design schemes and call plays that fit the talent that he has. Roethlisberger can still sling it and does so when he calls his own plays. When Canada calls the plays, expect a dump off or a run up the middle. It’s not working. If the team allows Ben to call most of the plays from a no huddle, utilize guys like Diontae Johnson and Harris and go deep to Chase Claypool (who needs to focus more), then the offense can ideally put together more complete games vs. a couple of fourth quarters comebacks that fall short, as happened in Los Angeles and Minnesota.
While I think the team is capable of doing these items, they’ve shown flashes, with it being this late in the season and a lot of work still needing to be done, I think it will be hard, yet not out of the realm of possibility for the Steelers to go 3-1, win the North and play post season football.
