Steelers/NFL
Ravens 28 – 
Steelers 14 (F)
The Pittsburgh Steelers are once again one and done in the postseason in a similar trend as the past three years of playoff exits; There is a major gulf between them and the elite teams in the AFC. The Mike Tomlin-led Steelers end the season on a five-game losing streak and the wildcard loss was an exclamation point of how much soul searching the organization has to do this off-season.
This is not only a talent issue. What the last five games showed everybody is the Steelers have a major scheme and body language problem. That is the biggest takeaway of what played out against the Philadelphia’s, Kansas City’s and Baltimore’s.
Baltimore just downright embarrassed the Steelers organization, setting a single game franchise record with 299 rushing yards (Most Ever Allowed by the Steelers), including 186 rushing yards by Derrick Henry. Lamar Jackson totaled 81 yards rushing and ‘Mr. Jackson’ just played with the Steelers all night. But this wasn’t a night you just tip your hat to greatness from Jackson and Henry like I’m sure the Steelers power brokers in the organization will do. You had one team that put their body on the line to get an extra yard at every instance and the other team in the Steelers shying away from tackles. It was an embarrassment.
It’s another offseason of the same questions.
When the Steelers went 98 yards to cut the score to 21-7 and give themselves a slimmer of hope, Baltimore immediately going 4 plays, 70 yards that was capped off by a 44-yard Derek Henry TD run was enough is enough, throw out your history with coaches, you have to clean house type of moment……….
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— Before diving into the QB future, everything starts with Mike Tomlin again. He has the contract security of making $18 million a year (with incentives), a No Trade Clause and he’s continued to show no signs of being willing to move on to another venture. Maybe he finally gets there as does the owner that a mutual parting or TRADE is best route for everybody, but at the very least, Pittsburgh’s five game implosion should get both coordinators fired. That includes Arthur Smith. Against elite teams, he got out schemed like he should be coaching high school football. Smith was below the line with his in-game management ability and consistently had a lack of answers when going off script, especially in short-yardage situations. Smith downright coached scared in the stretch run. He had no answers, handcuffed his QB and the rushing attack taking a major step back despite better quarterback play was alarming as it gets. Sometimes you just gotta say what happened is unacceptable and send a message. — 29 Yards Rushing in a Playoff Game —
QB Future: Russell Wilson after the game said he has a lot of ball left in him. The QB draft class and free agent class is brutal. Some team will watch those brilliant throws he made in the second half and believe with the right talent/coordinator around him, they can get more out of him than the Steelers did which I believe is an accurate stance. He will have a market. Pittsburgh at a minimum has to leave the door open but a lot will depend on the direction. With the likes of Patrick Maholmes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow going nowhere for years to come, Pittsburgh needs to look in the mirror and consider bold moves like Trading T.J. Watt who is entering the final year of his contract. Can you toe-the-line of staying competitive while getting significant draft capital for depreciating assets like Watt? A forward-thinking organization stuck in that 9-8, 10-7 peril the Steelers are in has to start thinking about this route. To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!
