The Pittsburgh Steelers took a major step back today in a 30-9 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars — so what gives?
Boy oh boy, what a disappointing loss for the Pittsburgh Steelers today. Coming off a dominant 26-9 win over their division rivals last week, the Steelers took a major step back today. They were completely embarrassed at home by a streaky Jacksonville Jaguars team.
The Steelers still sit atop of the AFC North no matter the rest of the results today, but the confidence isn’t very high. What is wrong with this team?
I’m not sure you can really blame much of the problems on the Steelers’ defense. They held Blake Bortles to just 95 yards total passing and kept Leonard Fournette fairly quiet if you take away the 90-yard garbage touchdown at the end of the game. They’ve been solid this season, the front-seven especially, getting pressure in the pocket and making life tough for opposing quarterbacks.
But like we’ve seen so many times before with teams, good defense doesn’t mean anything when you can’t put points up on the board. The real problems for this Steelers team stems on the offensive side of the ball. You’d never think we’d be talking about the Steelers offensive struggle, especially with all the talent they have.
I’m just not sure what offensive coordinator Todd Haley was thinking when he drew up his game plan today. The logic of throwing the ball 55 times against the top-ranked pass defense is beyond me. And on the other side, you’ve got arguably the most talented running back in Le’Veon Bell and he only rushed for 15 attempts? That’s inexcusable, especially since Bell was coming off a huge Week 4 performance.
The game plan was predictable and the Jaguars defense read it like a book. The blame not only falls on the play caller but also the man under center.
To put it lightly, Ben Roethlisberger was horrible today. He was the Jaguars best offensive player, throwing for a career-high five interceptions. Three were returned for touchdowns and were the difference in a 21 point loss. This just doesn’t look like the Big Ben that we’ve seen in the past. He’s lost a step and doesn’t seem to have that offensive presence in the pocket. Defenses are meant to fear him, but it looks like the complete opposite.
With retirement looming even before the start of this season, you have to wonder how much longer Roethlisberger has got left. At some point, the Steelers will have to move on. If the struggles continue, it could even be after this season.
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It’s not the time to mash the panic button, but if the Steelers want to be legitimate contenders in the AFC, things have to be fixed on the offensive side of the ball. They’re too good for just nine total points.