4 Steelers who should be benched or fired for losing to Watson-less Browns
By Mark Powell
When Deshaun Watson is healthy, the Browns are a formidable AFC North foe, especially when traveling to Cleveland. The Steelers know this. While Pittsburgh's record entering the game claimed they were 6-3, there is no bigger fraud in the NFL than Mike Tomlin's bunch.
The offense stinks. The play calling stinks. The offensive line can't pass protect. And even the highest-paid defense in football was showing some cracks due to injuries at key positions, like safety and inside linebacker.
Still, the Steelers were expected to win, in large part due to a season-ending injury suffered by Watson. Perhaps the Pittsburgh fanbase didn't give Cleveland enough credit for building a competitive team around Deshaun, especially defensively.
When this Pittsburgh team loses, they lose bad. When they win, it leaves a bad taste in the mouths of fans across the country. The Steelers lost 13-10 to Dorian Thompson-Robinson, a rookie out of UCLA, on Sunday. The offense was abysmal, which essentially makes up the entirety of this list.
Changes should be made, but they won't. That's the Tomlin standard.
Pittsburgh Steelers need to bench Kenny Pickett, and soon
Sadly, this one is unlikely to come to fruition anytime soon. The Steelers have invested far too much of their reputation on Kenny Pickett's development. Still, the young signal-caller struggled to surpass 100 yards passing for the second straight week. He has just six passing touchdowns on the season and is a liability offensively. The only reason Matt Canada's offense has looked at all effective this season is the running game. Pickett has done little to help in that department.
Benching a quarterback in just his second season with a poor play-caller is rarely a wise choice. This is why Pickett is likely to receive another chance in 2024 with a new offensive coordinator. Canada hasn't helped Pickett's development, and ultimately the two are tied together, for better or worse.
But believe it or not, Steelers fans are a smart bunch, and they know good quarterback play. Pickett is not that guy. He is not fit to replace Ben Roethlisberger. A change is coming, even if Pittsburgh football fans have to wait until 2025.