Jaylen Warren's comment after Steelers loss should put Mike Tomlin on the hot seat

Just a week removed from an exciting win over the Joe Burrow-less Cincinnati Bengals, the Steelers came crashing down to earth on Sunday in class Mike Tomlin fashion. While Tomlin receives plenty of acclaim from the national media -- and don't get me wrong, he's earned some of it -- his teams also tend to lose at least one inexplicable game each year. This season, that loss came at the hands of the Arizona Cardinals.

The Cardinals were 2-10 entering Sunday and jockeying for draft positioning. They have very little reason to win at this juncture besides pride, which evidently means a lot. Arizona steamrolled the Steelers in every department. Pittsburgh's offense looked as though Matt Canada was still at the helm. Their high-priced defense gave up a 99-yard drive in the second half to all but put the game away. It was a demoralizing defeat.

While fans were rightly up in arms after another loss that should have been avoided, Jaylen Warren set social media ablaze when he admitted the Steelers took Arizona lightly.

“I guess just taking them lightly — lighter than we should have,” Warren said. “Yeah, could be.”

Steelers, Mike Tomlin ought to know better by now

The Pittsburgh Steelers ought to know better by now. While Tomlin himself tends to do just enough to aid his team in finishing with a record above .500, the Steelers also play down to their competition consistently. This feat is not exclusive to the 2023 season.

These Steelers, however, entered Week 13 with a negative point differential. Despite holding the No. 4 seed in the AFC prior to Sunday's loss, Pittsburgh was arguably the weakest team in the AFC Playoff field. They could ill-afford to take another step back, having already lost a game to the Cleveland Browns with Dorian Thompson-Robinson at QB just two weeks prior.

Now, Pittsburgh is holding on by a thread, and face the lowly New England Patriots on a short week with their backup QB. Hopefully, this time, they'll be motivated.