PITTSBURGH — Is this Mike Tomlin's worst team?
I know, that is a silly question in some ways. The Steelers have played three games. It is a long season. A lot can change in the next 14 games.
But have you watched the three games?
The worst-team question doesn't seem so silly to me.
The offense, so horrid in the first two games, was marginally better in Cleveland on Thursday night. It ran the ball better with Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren in the first half. Mitch Trubisky was on the move a little more, rolling to his right or left and throwing the ball and even running with it a couple of times, once for a touchdown. He even took a few shots down the field. Where was that in the first two games? George Pickens made the best catch you will see all season. Yes, the Steelers really did get him involved.
But the offense scored just 17 points, three in the second half. It went three-and-out on three of its five full possessions. Maybe the team would have won the game if an ineligible-man-downfield penalty on Chukwuma Okorafor hadn't wiped out a 35-yard gain on a shovel pass to Warren to the Browns' 15 early in the third quarter with the Steelers ahead 14-13. Maybe it would have won if Diontae Johnson hadn't dropped a perfectly thrown deep pass by Trubisky down the left sideline late in the third quarter.
Ifs, right?
But even if those two plays had gone the Steelers' way, the team still probably would have lost because the defense was so bad. It has become obvious it can't win without T.J. Watt. It is 0-6 when he doesn't play. In the unlikely win at Cincinnati in the opener with Watt, the Steelers forced five turnovers and had seven sacks. In the past two losses against New England and Cleveland without Watt, they had one turnover and two sacks. On average, the defense is giving up about five more points a game and getting two fewer sacks without Watt.
For the second consecutive game, the Steelers were gashed by the opponent's running game. The Patriots ran out the final 6:33 of their 17-14 win at Acrisure Stadium on Sept. 18. The Browns' Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt combined for 160 rushing yards, 113 by Chubb.
"Nick Chubb controlled the game," Tomlin growled.
"We got our ass kicked," Cam Heyward growled, just as tersely.
Can we agree an offense that can't hit big plays and can't score points and a defense that can't stop the run and can't get off the field is not a good combination?
Maybe Tomlin will get things fixed. This isn't the first time his team has had a bad start or hit a rough stretch. The Steelers lost five games in a row in 2009 before winning the final three to finish 9-7. They lost their first four games in 2013 and finished 8-8. They lost four in a row in 2016 and made it to the AFC championship game. They went 8-8 in 2019 with Mason Rudolph and Duck Hodges as their quarterbacks after Ben Roethlisberger was lost for the season in the second game with an elbow injury.
Tomlin has never lost a team. That is his greatest strength as a coach. That's why he has not had a losing season in his first 15 years on the job.
But there are a couple of reasons to think that streak will end this season:
One, Roethlisberger is gone. Aside from the Duck year when he was injured, he always gave you the feeling the Steelers could find a way to win games. I don't get that feeling with Trubisky, although I do think he played better in Cleveland. Maybe Kenny Pickett, who will take over at quarterback at some point, will provide it, but it's hard to imagine that happening with him right from the start as a rookie.
And, two, the immediate schedule is brutal. The Steelers should be able to beat the New York Jets at home next Sunday, although the Jets did beat the Browns in Cleveland last Sunday. After that are games against Buffalo, Tampa Bay, Miami and Philadelphia before the bye week. All but the Tampa Bay game are on the road.
Have you watched those four teams?
It's as if they play a different game than the Steelers.
It doesn't help that Watt will miss the next two games and probably more because of his pectoral muscle injury.
Good luck to Tomlin keeping his team on track.
I predicted an 8-9 record before training camp.
I dropped it to 7-10 after seeing the exhibition games.
Now, I'm thinking 7-10 is a pipe dream.
