In true yinzer fashion, it’s time to overreact to a Steelers loss early in the season! I gave five reasons why fans shouldn’t panic (yet) about Pittsburgh’s tie with the Cleveland Browns, but now it’s time to look at that same glass as half empty and reveal five reasons there should be a bit of trepidation amongst Steelers Nation!

Ben Roethlisberger

Big Ben showed up in my “not panic” list as well, because I believe he won’t be consistently bad as a lot of the offensive turnovers were a product of the poor weather conditions. However, it took Roethlisberger several weeks last season (5 picks in Week 5 against Jacksonville) to start to look like a franchise quarterback.

The team can ill afford this type of play.

Le’Veon Bell

Speaking of ill afford, imagine if Bell decides to return out of the blue and wants to bump James Conner for playing time… and then falls flat.

Conner was one of the bright spots in the Steelers tie against the Browns, gaining 135 yards on the ground and another 57 in the air.

It took Bell seven games to eclipse 50 receiving yards last season, and he only did so in 5 of his 15 games played.

Bell also failed to post over 100 yards rushing in four of his first five games back in 2017: he would only top 100 yards four times all year.

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Joe Haden

I’m not sure how serious the injury to the Steelers starting cornerback is, but he needs to be on the field.

The Browns immediately attacked second-year corner Cameron Sutton, who replaced Haden after the latter went to the sideline. The first result was a touchdown pass to Josh Gordon. The second attempt was an interception.

I don’t like the idea of flipping a coin with the Steelers top cornerback on the shelf. He makes the defense infinitely better and definitely bailed them out on several plays Sunday.

Special Teams

How many times did the Steelers lean on Chris Boswell to win games in 2017?

Probably more than I care to count. However, all great teams rely on a great kicker and the Steelers need Boz. Again, something I’ll chalk up to the weather, yet, Jordan Berry has been on the hot seat all preseason and didn’t look sharp through most of Sunday’s game either.

Penalties

As expected, flags sucked the life out of the Steelers. This is the same old stuff each start of the season, but Mike Tomlin needs to nip this in the bud if the Steelers look to succeed. 12 penalties for 116 yards isn’t going to cut it, especially when six of those flags gave the Browns a first down.