Takeaways: Non-complimentary play equals Christmas loss for Steelers
Steel City Underground offers post-game takeaways for every 2024 Pittsburgh Steelers NFL regular season game, focusing on the black and gold, just for members of Steelers Nation.
The gauntlet has been run and, after facing three tough challengers in an 11 day stretch, the Pittsburgh Steelers have had the shine buffed right off of their armor after losing three consecutive games. Christmas Day could have been a more festive event had Pittsburgh settled in and taken advantage of opportunities against the Kansas City Chiefs at Acrisure Stadium, but their non-complimentary play resulted in a 29-10 final score; the Chiefs nabbed the No. 1 seed in the AFC and the Steelers may not become champions of their own division.
Where has the “D” in Steelers defense gone?
Like it or not, defensive coordinator Teryl Austin has to be on the hot seat a bit for the way his defense has regressed. Against the Chiefs, the Steelers allowed Patrick Mahomes to pick passing targets, seemingly at will, and embarrass the secondary. Mahomes completed 29 of 38 passes for 320 yards and three touchdowns in the holiday game.
It wasn’t injuries that were to be blamed. Pittsburgh fielded their top players on Wednesday afternoon, which makes it easy to point the finger at scheme and coaching.
Getting a sack or two on Mahomes might have slowed down his ability to work through progressions, but Pittsburgh got none. And, when Mahomes was flushed, guys weren’t covering all of his outlets and allowed plays to still be made.
The defense did not execute. That part, at least, is fully on the players. After the game, safety DeShon Elliott said, “I thought we communicated, but guys weren’t doing their job. It’s Week 18. You shouldn’t have these problems in Week 18. This is a Week 1 or 2 problem. I don’t know where we went down the line from being the defense we were, but we’ve got to get back to being who we are.”
Mike Tomlin compared the play style to that of junior varsity, and truly… it was. It certainly hasn’t gotten better since the loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 15 or after the loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 16. With one regular season game left, Pittsburgh has slid to 10-6 hurting their chances at entering the playoffs with any sort of complimentary play left in them.
Offense’s play wasn’t much sharper
When an NFL offense marches down the field on a drive, the expect to get something from it. Russell Wilson and the Steelers did that after the Chiefs went up 13-0, but gave the ball away, instead. Jaylen Warren‘s rushing touchdown could have been the cap-off, but Darnell Washington got penalized while blocking. On the ensuing play, Wilson forced a pass meant for Pat Freiermuth that was intercepted for a touchback.
Wilson was sacked five times in the game. Unlike the Steelers defense, the Chiefs took advantage of that and made it difficult for Pittsburgh to create offense. Receivers were tied up, Wilson had to score using his own legs (the lone touchdown for the black and gold in the game), or the ball was handed off. Wilson also lost a fumble in the game.
Trailing 22-10, Freiermuth lost the ball on a dump-off on 3rd & 15 nearly five yards short of the line to gain a conversion. That play speaks to questions about awareness on the field. The offense looked frustrated and out of sync in many ways. It was not sharp football.
https://twitter.com/steelers/status/1872036987701543391
The bad overshadowed the good
When Pittsburgh has been successful this season, it has been in games where the special teams complimented the defense and offense. Not even special teams was on point in this game. Corliss Waitman had an off day in punting the ball. On his first play of the game, Waitman kicked a line drive that went a measly 40 yards and was returned to set Mahomes up with a very short field. Kansas City capitalized.
“We’re not going to continue to do the same things and hope for a different result… That’s just the truth and reality of it.” – Mike Tomlin
Sadly, the overall poor play overshadowed a breakout performance from running back Jaylen Warren. Warren gained 71 yards on 11 carries and caught five passes for an additional 41 yards. Those 71 yards on the ground marked a season-high for the former undrafted back. Those yards weren’t all just breakaways as Warren was willing to make collisions to gain ground.
George Pickens, in his return from injury, caught three passes for 50 yards. An additional 14-yard reception was brought back due to a penalty.
The Steelers will have a mini-bye before they play their second game of the AFC North series with the Cincinnati Bengals in the final week of the 2024 NFL regular season.
