The Steelers Have an Everything Problem

There’s not much the Steelers have going right for them. It’s odd to say that for a team that is 2-2, but they looked about as uninspired as any team in the league. While they continue to struggle, more problems, including injuries across the team. Now, quarterback Kenny Pickett is injured and could miss time following the group’s loss to the Houston Texans on Sunday afternoon.

The problems at the start are apparent. Pittsburgh’s run defense is porous. The secondary can not keep a lid on it. Matt Canada’s play calls grow more questionable by the week. Pickett is missing throws. The offensive line is not executing. This group of skill players is inconsistent.

Some problems are more significant than others. For example, out of all of those issues, I think that Canada is the biggest one. He puts his offense in a position to fail. The 4th and one play call is exemplary of that fact. But he refuses to build plays off one another consistently. He continues to run off condensed sets and into stacked boxes. The passing game lacks creativity, and in terms of raw concepts, they run potentially the fewest in the league. Canada makes little adjustments to what the team sees on film, and when they suddenly see the same defensive gameplan they saw the next week, the plan collapses.

That weaves into Pickett’s struggles. The passing offense does not give him outs on many plays. Many solutions to the plays are Pickett playing backyard football and trying to make some magic happen. However, Pickett’s pocket presence has ran him into too many sacks. His processing is questionable, and he has missed open receivers. His accuracy, which seemed dependable last year, did not translate to this year. Now, he is injured, but everything is a mess.

Then, there is the offensive line. The group gets no help when Canada invites nine players into the box, and they quickly shoot gaps. But the group can not pass off stunts or get push up front to protect their quarterback. They probably are less to blame than most people think for this offense struggling, but they also hold the brunt of the blame.

Then, there is the defense. It’s a group far too reliant upon splash plays from their stars. T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith are great. Minkah Fitzpatrick is wearing twenty hats this season to try and cover up deficiencies behind the great pass rush. By doing so, the group is struggling to contain elite receivers. Don’t believe me? Just check out some of these stats from top receivers against the Steelers:

Top WRs vs the Steelers this year:

Week 1: Brandon Aiyuk 8 rec. 129 yds, 2 TD
Week 2: Amari Cooper 7 rec. 90 yds
Week 3: Davante Adams 13 rec. 172 yds, 2 TD
Week 4: Nico Collins 6 rec. 116 yds, TD

It's a clear pattern.

— Nick Farabaugh (@FarabaughFB) October 1, 2023

Collins added another touchdown, finishing with two touchdowns and 168 yards. The secondary can not hold up without the pass rush making a lot of plays. Meanwhile, the run game has failed to stop zone runs consistently. They can hold up against gap teams; look at the Raiders as an example, but they have little idea how to stop zone runs, which is why the Shanahan scheme tree has decimated them so far.

A lot of this falls at the feet of Mike Tomlin. Some of this falls at the feet of the assistant coaches. Others at the feet of the players. They all come together to create the issues collectively. You might look at this time and ask what is happening to make the team struggle so heavily. It’s not. There is no explanation for what the team is doing at this point. There are too many explanations and problems to comprehend at once. With that in mind, that’s what causes the Steelers to have blowout losses like this one and their home opener against the 49ers. Everything is wrong with this team. Only drastic changes will fix it.