Have the Steelers peaked? 3 overreactions to Pittsburgh's heartbreaking loss

Sunday night’s heartbreaking 20-17 loss puts the Pittsburgh Steelers in a tough position. The first half of their schedule is where they were supposed to rack up wins and build enough of a cushion to allow for a playoff buffer during their second-half crucible.

However, instead of being 4-1, mistakes, injuries, bad luck and poor play conspired on Sunday night to place Pittsburgh on a two-game slide. The Steelers are rolling back to the .500 record they've hovered above for the past three seasons. If there was ever a time to overreact, this would be it.

Pittsburgh treats its offense like it’s optional

The Steelers were pushing a boulder up a hill on Sunday night. If it wasn’t the offense going 3-and-out or failing to generate chunk plays or convert third downs, it was the defense finally collapsing under the weight after Fields finally delivered on a touchdown drive to take the lead in the final 5 minutes.

If you’d said Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence were out of the lineup for a primetime game against the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Dallas Cowboys still won, I’d make a few assumptions. The first one I’d make is that the Cowboys air show must have overwhelmed Pittsburgh’s defense, left scorch marks in the grass, and left Justin Fields in the dust. 

But the Cowboys didn’t blow a hole in the scoreboard because Pittsburgh stiffened its back in the red zone—the Steeler's opportunistic defense proved its worth on countless occasions. TJ Watt’s 100th career sack was a forced fumble. 

For the first time this season, Pittsburgh lost the time of possession battle. Against playoff-caliber opponents, they’ll need more than just a ball-control offense. Pittsburgh treats offense like it’s optional until they’re trailing. At least that’s what they’ve done the past two weeks.  By the final possession, Tomlin’s vaunted defense was exhausted and decimated.

Injuries are rearing their ugly head on the NFL’s most expensive defense. Nick Herbig limped off the field with a lower-body injury. Defensive lineman DeMarvin Leal left after suffering a neck stringer. Alex Highsmith has missed the past two games since pulling his groin in Week 3. Getting to the bye week will be pivotal for the Steelers. 

The Steelers have an absolute liability at cornerback

Speaking of bye weeks, the return of slot cornerback Cameron Sutton after the bye is what the Steelers are pining for. One week ago, Justin Fields took the brunt of the criticisms after fumbling multiple snaps. This week, it was Sutton’s replacement Beanie Bishop Jr.

In July, the NFL suspended Sutton without pay for eight games after an investigation was conducted into the charges he faced in Florida of domestic battery by strangulation. In his stead, Bishop, a rookie who played at three different DI schools, has been getting worked like a 9-to-5 plus overtime and DoorDash shift. Bishop was in Prescott’s crosshairs all night and committed multiple penalties, which cost the Steelers at least 10 points.

On the Cowboys game-winning fourth-and-goal touchdown, Bishop briefly abandoned his zone responsibilities to follow KaVontae Turpin across the middle of the field, which took him out of position to defend Jalen Tolbert as he sprinted past him on a mesh route. Veteran safety DeShon Elliott was a little late recovering, but it only added to the scrutiny of Bishop, who might as well have a “kick me” sign on his back after Sunday night.

Around the league, insiders are taking notice. They’ll get a reprieve against Gardner Minshew on Sunday, but when they travel to New York in two weeks, Bishop could become a piece on Aaron Rodgers’ chess board on Monday night.

Justin Fields left the door ajar for Russell Wilson

This might be where the rubber begins to hit the road for the Justin Fields experiment. Two weeks ago, the chances of Wilson starting at any point this season were dimming. The offensive production was lackluster, but turnovers were kept to a minimum. During low-scoring affairs, Fields did enough to demonstrate that he’s a viable starting quarterback, but when forced to come from behind, he’s been more reckless.

The Steelers pass rush, secondary and even the special teams were doing their part to preserve another win for Mike Tomlin on Sunday night. However, the result also exposed Fields’ limitations. Most weeks have been a utilitarian exercise for the offense. Yards are gained through grit, small gains and the occasional tight window throws. The deep passing attack is almost non-existent. Fourth-down conversions and nail-biters are a way of life for this Steelers team. Najee Harris averaged only three yards a carry against one of the NFL’s worst rushing defenses, which is an improvement over the 1.5 yards per carry he averaged against Indianapolis’ dull defense.

Moving the ball inconsistently puts pressure on the defense to carry the load and puts Fields in unenviable positions late. It’s beginning to catch up to Pittsburgh. Last year, they went 9-2 in games decided by one possession (8 points) or less. Eventually, the pendulum was bound to shift in the opposite direction. That’s not an ideal way to live from week to week. Pittsburgh has been staving off the reality of their offensive issues. Fields toughed it out through offensive famines, but he hasn’t authored a free-flowing offense. 

The offense has been taking on water for a few weeks now, but the two straight losses may be what spurs a reality check. Only two of Fields’ completions traveled 10 or more yards past the line of scrimmage. None traveled more than 15. In contrast, Prescott had five, including three gains of 25 or more yards. The Steelers' lack of an explosive downfield passer, which is where Wilson has excelled for his entire career, is limiting their offense. If they plummet back toward .500 after starting the season 3-0, the time for a change may be nearing. Of course that is contingent on Wilson being healthy enough to take live game snaps.